Orchids in the Spring
by gabrielle004
Summary: A Sequel to Always Have, Always Will and if you haven't read that, shame on you! [Post HBP] Please Read and Review! Rated M
1. A New Discovery

**Author's Note**: Hello everyone! Yes I know, it's about bloody time – I know! I'm truly sorry. I really wanted to have my story pretty much all written out before I posted anything, but I'm having some writer's block and I keep putting off writing (I do have LOTS to do), sooooo

I'm just going to post this first chapter, and after I start getting complaints for an update, maybe that will get my butt moving and my fingers typing.

In other words, I don't really know where I going with this story, well that's actually a lie, I know where it's going in terms to set up the (hopefully) third story, but I'm not too sure how to get there…

Anyways, here you go folks…

(Hope you like it!)

Gabby004

* * *

Quote: 

**Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired. - **Robert Frost

* * *

-New Found Feelings-

The boy who lived.

He was tired of hearing that name. He remembered hearing it for the first time when he was eleven. Then he was awestruck, now it irritated him. But that wasn't the worst.

Being referred to as the "boy who lived" meant that people stared at him with fascination and interest. But being labeled, "The Chosen One", well that came with a completely different set of reactions.

It was a name that had been granted to him when the wizarding community learned about his escapades at the Ministry of Magic, back at the end of his fifth year. And unfortunately, after a year and a half, the name still stuck.

The Chosen One, it made him want to laugh. He him self knew that it was true, for he had heard the entire prophecy with Dumbledore, but what the magical world didn't know, was just how close to the truth they really were.

He had come to terms with the prophecy last year, when Dumbledore had reveled to him the concept of Horcruxes and what ultimately had to be done.

Harry knew full well what was in store for him, he knew exactly how hard it was going to be to destroy Voldemort, and he had spent many endless days and nights thinking about it.

But with Dumbledore endlessly searching for the next Horcrux to be destroyed, Harry had nothing more to do than to try and be a normal teenage, which meant finishing school, playing quidditch and having fun with his friends.

And as Harry lay on the floor in his makeshift bed, currently dreaming on this cold and dark Christmas night, his mind was Voldemort free, but his heart was racing none the less…

* * *

… She planted big, wet kisses all over his face…

… He picked her up and threw her onto the bed…

… She continued to kiss his lips, while her fingers quickly unbuttoned the front of his quidditch robes…

… She ripped the robe off of him, so he was leaning over her, shirtless but still wearing the crimson pants…

…They continued to kiss, passionately and hard as Harry unbuttoned her white blouse. As the buttons came off, his breath increased and he felt his stomach tighten in a fit of excitement.

He wanted her… wanted her so badly… he wanted to see what it felt like to be inside of a woman, and what better women to be inside besides her?

When all of the buttons were undone, Harry slowly pushed the material aside and stared down at a pair of beautifully shaped, perky breasts that were pale and so provoking, barely hidden underneath an emerald silk bra…

…green, his favorite color… it made him go crazy as he lowered his head to her chest, and licked and sucked at her nipples, still hidden under the soft silk…

…She moaned as she lay on the bed, enjoying the feeling of being pleasured by him… and then she began to moan his name…

…Harry felt that this was the moment, this was the time, and so he climbed on top of her… lifted up her skirt… unzipped his pants…

Smack!

"AHHHH!" roared Harry as he was rudely awakened by Ron's fist landing squarely between his eyes. Harry closed his eyes tight and attempted to rid him self of the pain as he tried to remember where he was.

"Ron, what the hell was that for?" Harry yelled at Ron, finally realizing what had just happened.

Ron's bedroom was very dark, and Harry did not yet have his glasses on but he could tell that something was up. One usually didn't awaken their best mate by a hard left jab.

"You were moaning my sister's name!" said Ron in a highly irritated tone.

"Really?" asked Harry, some what nervous and now scared.

"Yeah, really. I mean what the hell were you dreaming about, moaning her name like that? You woke me up, you were so loud and-"

"Well I'm sorry, but I was dreaming that Voldemort was about to kill her," lied Harry quickly, forcing a sound of annoyance to his voice.

He really didn't want Ron to question him any farther, because he knew fully well that he'd probably be dead within twenty seconds if Ron found out what he had been dreaming about.

Although Harry couldn't see him in the darkness, he could tell by Ron's silence that he had probably believed him, and the tone of Ron's voice made Harry believe that he was feeling ashamed,

"Oh. Um… Sorry about conking you over the head. I - well - it really did sound like something else." said Ron quickly.

Harry lay back down on the floor, "It's alright, but never wake me up like that again, okay? It really hurt." He said while rubbing his forehead.

"Sorry." said Ron quickly and then he too lay back down on the bed.

The two boys said nothing else to each other. Instead they lay in their respective beds and tried to go back to sleep, well at least Ron tried.

Harry on the other hand was too busy reliving his dream, and as he did he grew increasingly happy that Ron's room was still dark, for this way he wouldn't have to explain the tent he was pitching in his pants.

Harry blushed as he looked up embarrassedly to Ron's bed, and when he heard Ron's snores, Harry rolled over to his side and felt a bit more comfortable.

As Harry stared off into the darkness of Ron's room he began to think.

The previous night at the Burrow had been spent singing and dancing, eating and celebrating to a wonderful Christmas and Ron and Hermione's engagement. But the events of the night before did not offer Harry much comfort; on the contrary, they gave him much pain.

As he had watched Ron and Hermione laughing, kissing and holding each other, his own heart, although very happy for his friends, fell into a pool of sadness.

Why hadn't he found love?

He thought he had found a kind of love in his girlfriend Luna, but after watching his two best friends together, he realized that what he felt for Luna was nothing more than love for a friend, and a touch of infatuation.

Harry rolled over uncomfortably, his mind was troubled, but not over the usual things.

Normally his mind would be over worked with school and Voldemort, but now he only had one thing on his mind, actually one person.

As he rolled over on his makeshift bed, he began to think endlessly about her…

Her smile… her scent… her laugh…

And then he mentally slapped himself,

_How could I be so stupid! How come I never saw this coming, or noticed before?_

The more he thought about her, the more he wanted her, but there were problems. Firstly,

_I'm dating Luna! How could I do this to her? I mean we're not really that close… maybe she'd take the break up okay… I really don't want to hurt her feelings… I really do like her, but I'm not in love with her…_

Then there was the second problem,

_She's your best mate's sister! He'd kill you if you ever so much as looked at her in that way, never mind date her…_

Problem number three,

_She probably doesn't like me, I mean sure, she did send me a Valentine, but that was way back in second year!_

And the biggest problem of all,

_Ginny's been dating Dean for over two years! She wouldn't still be dating him if there weren't feelings there, would she?_

Harry rolled over on his back and stared hopelessly at the ceiling. He really didn't know how it had all started, but his new found feelings for Ginny were becoming increasingly unbearable.

What he had noticed was that he always seemed to have a pull towards Ginny Weasley.

When staying at the Burrow she was the one to play tricks on Ron with; she was the one to talk about quidditch with; the one he made jokes for and the one he playfully teased.

He had noticed that it was she that he always ended up sitting next to on train rides and at meal times, and she was the one person that he always tried to spot in a crowd of people.

But it seemed to Harry that he had made this revelation all too late, for now there seemed to be too many problems in the way…

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

* * *

Ginny Weasley lay motionless in her bed as she stared up at the ceiling, imagining Harry sleeping on the floor above her.

After a few more moments of staring, she quickly shook her head,

_What the hell am I doing?_

Ginny angrily rolled over in her bed and pulled the sheets up to her neck, and desperately tried to push Harry out of her head.

Why did she love him so?

Why couldn't she get him out of her mind?

Why did his face and his smile and his green eyes linger in her head, teasing her, reminding her of something she didn't have?

A long time ago Hermione had advised Ginny to be her self, and lot good that had done. It didn't make any difference; none at all, for it seemed that Harry Potter didn't even know she was alive.

_Well of course he knows I'm alive_, Ginny thought angrily, _He just doesn't find me as attractive as that tall, blonde, weird Loony Luna!_

Ginny's anger rose as she remembered that day during the summer when she spent that long and dreadful visit at Luna Lovegood's house. That was when she received the worse news of her life,

"I'm dating Harry!" Luna had said in bright-eyed wonderment.

The sight had made Ginny want to puke, but she couldn't at the time because of pure shock.

Harry dating Luna?

How did this happen? How could this happen? Still, after these many months, she had no answer.

Why did he like this annoyingly weird but beautiful girl when she, his best friend's sister had been right under his nose for so many years!

Ginny felt the tears start to form in her eyes.

She tired to push him out of her mind. She tired to think of something, anything but him.

And for a few moments, she did manage. She had quickly busied her mind with thoughts about school, and exams…

Thoughts about studying, about balancing homework with study… with quidditch… and watching Harry ride on his broomstick… zooming faster and faster in the air with such amazing skill and talent and – what was she doing?

How on earth was it possible for her mind to always creep back to him?

Wasn't she over him?

After how many years of hoping and praying that he would do something, wishing and dreaming about it, to have absolutely nothing happen at all.

She felt stupid for ever liking him, she felt dumb and idiotic – but still, a part of her still ached for him.

What was her problem?

Was she really in love, or just very obsessed, for this kind of constant thought of a person sure seemed like obsession at times.

Ginny took a deep, slow breath and as she exhaled the air, she tired to rid herself of her thoughts too, but it didn't work.

Her mind was swimming with thoughts and emotions, all about Harry… always about Harry…

And then she started to do something she had done a million times before; she started to relive and analyze every moment she ever had with him, every pitiful touch, glance, smile, wink, nod, response and question he had ever asked her, she began to analyze all of it.

She searched and searched for some hope… hope that he might like her…

She lay in her bed, thinking endlessly until the morning sun began to rise slowly in the sky, hidden behind a thick layer of winter clouds.

Unfortunately Ginny would not be alone for very long. Hermione was sleeping at this moment on the floor beside her, but much to Ginny's displeasure, Hermione was not there to comfort her.

The night before, Christmas Eve, Ron had asked Hermione to marry him, and although Ginny was truly happy for them, she couldn't help feeling angry, hurt and depressed.

_There you go!_ She thought to herself,

_Everyone in this world has found love and happiness except me. Everyone expect Ginny Weasley who will probably never get married but instead, will live with 90 cats in a house all alone…_

Ginny lay now on her bed, crying into her hands, tears of anger, disappointment, pain, sadness and rage…

_Why do I love him! _She screamed silently to herself,

_Why can't I stop thinking about him! He doesn't like me! There you go! He's dating someone else! HE DOESN'T WANT YOU!_

A few moments later, Hermione woke up to the sound of Ginny's not-so-silent tears, and slowly sat up on the floor and peered over the bed.

Ginny had her back to her, but Hermione could tell by the rise and fall of the blanket that Ginny was having a rough time.

Hermione didn't know whether or not she should say something, so instead of talking, she quickly wrapped herself in her robe and exited the room, and headed down stairs for an early breakfast.

Ginny lay quietly while she heard Hermione dressing, but now that the room was all hers, Ginny whipped the sheets off of her and lay sprawled out on the bed, tears dripping down the sides of her cheeks.

She was glad that Hermione hadn't asked any questions, because she really didn't want to talk about this.

After all, she was supposed to be happily dating Dean…

Ginny snorted.

It wasn't that Ginny didn't like Dean Thomas, it was just that he could never, ever compare to Harry Potter, no matter how hard he tried.

Dean was just not as interesting, mysterious, troubled, funny or cute and honestly, Ginny no longer wanted to try and convince herself that someday she might like Dean more than Harry.

Because that would never happen.

And then Ginny paused.

Without thinking, she got off of her bed and walked to the full length mirror at the other end of her room. She stood there, in front of it, staring at her reflection in the early morning glow, looking herself up and down…

She was beautiful, she knew it, and so did all of the boys. She was average in height, but her body and face were anything but average. Her breasts were of a good size and her waist was small. Her back sloped beautifully to her small round butt, and her legs were long and slender.

Her eyes were almond shaped and dark blue, and her long strawberry-blonde hair had a touch of a wave and framed her perfectly shaped face. Her nose fit just right and her lips were a touch plump, and all the boys thought they were all so kissable.

And as Ginny stared at her reflection she had the sudden urge to undress. She ripped her nightgown and panties off and stood in the mirror staring at her naked body.

How sexy and seductive a woman was… how beautifully we were created, she thought, how perfect…

Gentle curves… supple breasts… wide hips… long hair…

And the longer Ginny stared at herself in the mirror, the more her confidence grew…


	2. Holidays Suck

-Holidays Suck-

(Flashback to the night before: Christmas Eve)

Snow was gently falling all around on this crisp Christmas Eve night, and Pansy Parkinson was slowly making her way up a wide stone path to a large and posh house, a house that was big, grand and old with lots of family history and even more family secrets.

The house had many windows, all of which were a warm shade of gold as many figures of family and friends passed back and forth, exposing the fun that was being had inside.

Pansy watched this view from an ever closing distance, and the closer she got, the faster her heart started to pound.

She didn't want to be here, she didn't want to ruin another Christmas, ruin yet another holiday with false greetings, fake smiles and forged sympathy.

She didn't want any of that.

And that's why she had purposely arrived late for the holidays. Any extra moment spent at home would only bring on more suffering than she could possibly bear at the moment, and she was not in any mood for that.

As she approached the front door she could hear laughter and loud talk escaping from the house, all of it made her stomach turn in disgust.

As far as Pansy was concerned, holidays suck.

They were such a façade, such a make-believe wonderland of what life at the Parkinson home would look like if only the occupants would try to get along.

But getting along was an unheard concept to her family.

Slowly she climbed the front steps… one… two… three… and then she stopped, with her nose an inch away from the tall oak door.

She closed her eyes to try to stop her head from spinning. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her heart down.

And there she stood, for five minutes, in the cold dark night on Christmas Eve… alone and quiet… listening hopefully to the happy sounds inside as she prayed in vain that maybe, just maybe this holiday would be different from the rest.

And without much thought, she lifted her hand and knocked firmly on the door.

And then she heard it,

The sound of shuffling feet and whispers behind the door, and then…

"Oh Pansy honey, it's so good to have you home!" cried Emile Parkinson in a high, unnatural tone as she grabbed her daughter into the hallway and hugged her a little too tightly.

"Hello mother," said Pansy, trying her best not to sound annoyed but pleasant.

Emile quickly let go of her daughter and from a distance stared her up and down as she shook her head.

"Pansy darling, you must run up stairs and change into something nice, dear. It is Christmas after all and we have friends and family waiting in the living room and they're are all dying to see you,"

"Sure mother," replied Pansy quickly as she kicked off her boots and ran as fast as she could down the hallway and up the stairs.

As Pansy bolted up the stairs to the second floor she thought she heard someone say from the kitchen area, "Was that Pansy who just ran in looking like a wet mop?"

Pansy tried best not to let the comment get to her, and it didn't, although when she had made it up the stairs and to her room she slammed her bedroom door quite loudly and unnecessarily.

"Stupid, bloody bitch!" muttered Pansy as she ripped off her black cloak and threw it onto her bed.

"She has the nerve to say that I look like a wet mop when her daughter looks like a donkey's ass!" whispered Pansy in anger as she tore off her school uniform in the darkness and stomped towards her closet.

Pansy began to rummage through her closet in the darkness as the noise from downstairs continued on. She pulled out dresses upon dresses, looking for just the right thing to wear.

She was pissed off, pissed off at all of them, everyone who was downstairs for she knew exactly why they had all shown up.

"I can't believe I'm going to go through with this," muttered Pansy to herself as she pulled a dark blue dress out of the closet and quickly stepped into it.

When she had finished zipping the back of the dress up, she walked across the room and sat down on top of a pile of clothes that had been thrown onto her vanity chair.

She grabbed a big brush off of the vanity and while looking at her reflection in the mirror, began to angrily comb through her head of half wet hair.

She combed fast and hard, pulling the whole length of her black shoulder length hair as she stared at her reflection in the mirror…

And then she paused.

How exhausted she looked… she hadn't noticed it before, but her once shiny blue eyes had now lost their sparkle… her face seemed to be hanging, and the frown that she wore looked as though it was set in stone…

Pansy shook her head and continued to comb her hair and then put down the brush and grabbed a tube of lipstick.

_I may feel like shit, but I won't let **them **know it,_ she thought bitterly as she applied the dark purple gloss over her lips.

The lipstick clashed beautifully with the blackness of her hair and the navy of her dress and she quickly stood up, brushed herself off, and then marched out of the room.

Sure enough she hadn't even made it down the entire flight of stairs when she could hear voices in a close room saying,

"It's a poor thing that Draco Malfoy got himself in trouble with the law… he really would have made a good husband for Pansy, Henry."

Pansy stopped on the last step and waited for her father's reply,

"Yes well I have spoken with Lucius and Narcissa and I offered my condolences to the two, but my dear Pansy… how she feels is any ones guess. Neither my wife nor I have spoken to her about it since it happened. Of course I'm sure she's awfully-"

But whatever Pansy awfully was she did not know, because she had quickly run across the hall and snuck into the kitchen, only to find herself in even more trouble.

"Oh my word!" cried Pansy's Aunt Fiona in false amazement and joy as she ran up to Pansy and pulled her into a tight hug, "Oh my dear Pansy, it's so good to see you."

Fiona pulled out of Pansy's limp hug and stood back and stared her niece up and down, "Well, at least you're looking well,"

"You mean well enough for a wet mop?" asked Pansy as she tried hard to keep her face straight and serious.

Pansy stared long and hard into Fiona's eyes, but before her aunt could retort back Emile had swooped in and was now leading Pansy into the dining room where her father was seated at the long table, along with the rest of the family.

When Pansy entered the room all talk ceased as her family stared at her with mixed expressions of pity and satisfaction, and then the inevitable came,

"Pansy it's so good to see that you're well,"

"Thank you, Uncle Hank."

"Oh Pansy, what a pity it is for you to have lost such a good mate. Better luck in the future!" toasted Great Aunt Emma with a look of pure pleasure.

Pansy looked down at her feet and tired hard not to cry.

She knew this was going to happen… all of these people, they weren't here for Christmas, no, they were all here to laugh at her misfortune, to enjoy her moment of weakness… to rub in the fact that she was not going to marry Draco Malfoy after all.

"Oh dear, don't let your auntie's words dishearten you," said Cousin Martha as Pansy raised her head,

"I mean sure, it would have been nice to marry into the Malfoy family, what with all of the money, power and success you could have gained. But now you'll just have to fight like the rest of us women, and learn to accept the fact that you're not any better then us."

Pansy's jaw dropped to the floor.

This wasn't fair. She had been expecting subtle rude comments, but not a full out attack.

Fiona's daughter Julia then spoke, "Yes that's right Pansy, you really need to bring your ego back down to earth. Your nose is so high up in the air I can see your brain."

"Now really Julia, I expect more from you." whispered Fiona quietly from behind Pansy, but Pansy turned round and saw the sneer that lingered there.

Pansy's heart began to race as the anger was rising quickly in her. But instead of yelling out all of the nasty things that were crossing her mind, she turned and ran out the door and up the stairs to her bedroom.

She reached the door, swung it open, slammed it shut and then threw herself on her bed.

And there she lay, crying hot tears of anger and pain as she felt her body flush with heat.

_How dare those bastards treat me like that! Jealous, that's what they are! They just didn't want me to marry Draco because they didn't like the idea that I would be getting more out of a husband than any of their daughters would!_

Pansy continued to cry and cry until her bedroom door was roughly opened and she looked up to see the outlining figure of her mother and father.

Pansy's tears stopped immediately, but she neither moved nor said a word.

"Well?" asked her father in his typical angry tone.

"Well what?" choked Pansy as she slowly sat up on her bed.

"Why did you leave the dining room in such a scene?" asked her mother, loud and clearly as though the question was apparent.

"What? Are you joking? Did you not hear what they said to me?" demanded Pansy.

"Pansy you're such a drama queen!" said her mother in an irritated tone. She turned and left the door way. Henry on the other hand stayed rooted to the spot.

Pansy stared at him in silence and waited until he spoke,

"I understand that you're angry, but you need to keep your composure."

Pansy just sat quietly.

She wanted to talk back. She wanted to tell her father that he didn't have the slightest clue on how she was feeling. She wanted to contradict him, but she knew that if she did the situation would only get worse.

And to her relief, her father turned and left her alone in her dark room.

Pansy let go of a shaky breath, she had been seriously worried that her father may have slapped her, and when her heart slowed back down to a normal rhythm, she got off of her bed and walked out of her room.

The second floor was dark and deserted, but the light that was coming from the lower floor was enough to light Pansy's way.

She tip-toed to the edge of the stairs and sat herself down and then quietly listened to the talk coming from down stairs.

It seemed that everyone had forgotten about her, for the conversation was now about unregistered animagi.

Pansy dropped her head in her hands and began to cry. There were fifty people down stairs. Fifty family members and close family friends, but not one of them was willing to offer her a kind word or ask her how she was really doing.

But Pansy Parkinson was not the only person who felt alone this Christmas Eve. At this very moment the house of Malfoy with its many rooms and hallways, stairways and secret passages was filled with one sound; the echo of dull, dry sobs coming from Narcissa Malfoy.

Narcissa was currently sitting on a couch in the family room, all alone and in dim flickering light coming from a single candle that was burning on the table next to her.

There was a picture in her hand, a picture of a small boy about the age of three laughing and giggling silently in the frame. Narcissa looked down at the portrait of her son and then felt an icy cold hand of guilt grab at her heart.

How could she have allowed them to take him away from her? What kind of a mother was she?

To lose your son, your one and only joy… it was certainly the most horrible thing that could happen to a woman…

Narcissa was overcome with sadness and depression, something which she had never felt the times before when Lucius had been sent to prison.

Lucius… oh how she loathed him.

The very mention or thought of his name made her want to scream at the top of her lungs.

How come he allowed it to happen? Hadn't he sworn to her that Draco would be sent free?

He had promised her, the day they received the phone call from Snape, he had promised to her that her son would not have to spend a single day in Azkaban, but he lied…

Oh boy did he lie.

Today was Christmas Eve, marking the 12th day that her precious son had spent sitting in Azkaban, rotting away under the heavy guard of the dementors; and it was this thought that drove Narcissa mad.

_He should be here… opening presents and laughing and joking with me… but instead he's locked up… and I can't even visit him!_

More crying… endless crying matched with endless pain…

And as Narcissa sat and cried on the couch, she didn't notice that her husband had just entered the living room.

Lucius Malfoy sneered when he saw his wife crying. How absolutely disgusting she looked, sulking on the couch, the way she had done for days now. She hadn't even had the decency to take a proper shower, let alone put on make-up or do her hair.

Lucius was growing increasingly appalled with his wife and was about to turn and leave the room when Narcissa raised her head from her hands and stared across the room at her husband.

Her tears stopped immediately.

She looked him up and down. He was dressed in a ravishing black suit with his blonde hair slicked back and his cane at his side as though ready to leave, the sight angered her,

"Where are you going?" she asked in a monotone voice.

"Out." was his reply.

"Out?" she asked in return, "Out to where?"

"Where ever I like," stated Lucius as he turned to leave through the door from which he came. But he had only taken two steps when he felt something hard hit the back of his head.

He spun around on his heels and saw a pillow lying on the floor at his feet. He looked up at his wife and drawled,

"What is it now, my sweet?"

"You're leaving?" questioned Narcissa in disbelief,

"It's Christmas Eve… our son is in prison… and you're all dressed up and ready to go and party? What the hell is the matter with you Lucius?" asked Narcissa in shock and rage.

"Fortunately I do not feel the need to let myself waste away just because my son is in prison. I on the other hand have more important things to do,"

Narcissa glared at her husband, "Your right Lucius, you do have more important things to do," she slowly rose from off of the couch and walked closer to her husband,

"You have the wonderful job of bringing our son home, and I want him home Lucius. No more of this foolish sweet talk about how you and your contacts are doing "the best you can". Your best is not enough!" she shouted.

She was infuriated at the fact that Lucius would much rather go out and attend a rich social party than try and figure out a way to bring their son home.

Lucius on the other hand was annoyed.

He had better things to do than to stand here and listen to his wife bicker and complain about things she had no concept of, and without another word, he turned around and headed out the door.

"Lucius!" shouted Narcissa after her husband, "Lucius Malfoy, don't you dare leave this house!"

When she heard no response, she quickly followed after him.

She chased him down the hallway and through the office. Past the dinning room, into the library and to the front entrance, but regrettably she wasn't quick enough.

By the time she reached the front door it was wide open, and she stood there in the doorway, watching the black figure of her husband disappear quickly in a think swirl of white, cloudy snowflakes.

And when she could no longer see his outline, she collapsed on the floor and cried… cried for hours and hours until Maggie the house maid came and found her and helped her up, and then slowly walked her off to her bedroom.


	3. The Gentle Hum

Authors Note: OMG you guys, I'm soooo sorry! I know I haven't posted in forever, but I've been super busy with school (mid-terms and such) but here I am. I really hope that I haven't lost any fans, and I'm so sorry if you guys lost faith in me, but I promise that I'll try to write more frequently!

I hope you like! (and yes, I know it's a cliffie)

Gabby

PS. I know a lot of my fans are confused about how Pansy Parkinson and the Malfoy family have suddenly appeared in my story. For the answer, please check out my profile on FanFiction

* * *

-The Gentle Hum- 

Peaceful. Quiet. Still.

Thick white snowflakes gliding from the stormy sky above, and gently landing on the trees and bushes that flocked the Weasley's back yard.

It was early Christmas morning, 7:21 to be exact, and Hermione found her self sitting in the Weasley's kitchen, sipping a hot mug of coffee and staring out the window.

All was quiet in the house around her, as it had been for the last hour. Hermione seemed to be the only one who was awake in a house of twelve, but she didn't mind being alone.

As she sat at the kitchen table and stared outside the window to the gently falling snow, she felt herself smile and blush between sips of coffee; all was right in the world.

She was happy, more than happy – ecstatic was the word, for not only was she with the man that she loved, but now she was engaged to him.

The night before had been a special one for both her and Ron, and now all she could think of was how happy they'd be to together, and how glad she was that they had managed to past through the hard times and suffering.

Her heart was at peace, her soul was at peace, but her mind was stilling whispering caution,

_What will your parents say about this?_

Hermione pushed the thought out of her head as she forcefully reminded her inner voice that she was after all an adult, and that this was her decision and not theirs.

The voice quickly retreated and Hermione went back to happily sipping her morning coffee.

Half an hour past before any one else came down and then, slowly and quietly, Harry creped down the stairs.

When he saw Hermione, twisted in a chair to see who had entered, he smiled at her,

"I didn't think anyone would be awake at this hour,"

Hermione returned the smile, "Well, with all of yesterday's excitement, I found it a little hard to sleep. You?"

"I well… just have a lot on my mind," said Harry as he reached the table and sat across from Hermione. He pulled the coffee pot towards him, poured a cup, and then pulled his wand out of his pants pocket.

He aimed his wand at a cupboard over his shoulder. The cupboard door swung open and a small glass jar came floating out of it, and headed straight for Harry's open left hand.

He grasped the jar, opened it and sprinkled a few shavings into his cup of coffee.

Hermione smelt the scent of the vanilla and smiled, "Isn't life so much sweeter now that we are adults and we can do magic when ever we like?"

Harry took a long sip and nodded, "Well you know, I personally still feel like a child, I mean, I'm not the one getting married."

Hermione blushed, "Yeah… I'm really excited about that,"

"Even though you saw it coming?" grinned Harry.

"I didn't see it coming!" lied Hermione, but then complied when Harry gave her a look, "Okay, okay, so I had a hunch. But it was still very, very romantic."

"Well I'm happy for you two. Really, you and Ron are so good together,"

Hermione smiled, "Thank you, Harry. I'm really glad that you're okay with this."

"Why wouldn't I be?" asked Harry now puzzled.

"Oh well – it's nothing like that! Ron and I were just worried that if we got together that you'd feel…"

"Left out? Alone? Betrayed by my own friends?" offered Harry dramatically as he bared a shocked and hurt expression.

Hermione laughed and Harry quickly smiled.

They sat together quietly for a few more moments, until they heard grumbling noises coming from the living room.

Ron came around the corner, shirtless and wearing a baggy pair of plaid pants. He froze in the doorway, raised his arms above his head and yawned loud and deep, and then mumbled a morning greeting.

Harry nodded in return, but Hermione was busy eyeing Ron's body up and down, taking in every curve of his toned arms… the narrowness of his waist… the slight bulge in his pants… and when Ron caught her eye, she turned away and blushed into her coffee cup.

Ron smirked and walked towards Hermione, who continued to stare into her cup. He then leaned over and kissed the top of her bushy, brown head and whispered, "Maybe later."

Hermione blushed even deeper and her eye's quickly darted upward to look at Harry, but thankfully Harry seemed too busy with his own thoughts to have noticed.

Ron then walked around the table and over to some cupboards, where he began to fix himself some breakfast, and Hermione began to watch Harry while she sipped her coffee.

His facial expression was an awkward one, a mixture of pleasure and pain, but before she could gently ask him what was on his mind, someone had just entered the room and had let out a loud gasp.

Everyone in the room turned to look at Ginny, who was standing frozen in the doorway, staring in Harry's direction.

A long silence followed as Harry and Ginny stared at each other in a most peculiar fashion. Hermione slowly lowered her cup onto the table as her glace bounced from Ginny to Harry and back again, but it was Ron who was the first to speak,

"What's the matter with you, Gin? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

Hermione looked annoyingly over at Ron, but by the time she had turned back to Ginny and Harry, the two had unlocked their gaze and Ginny was now walking towards Hermione.

"Morning," said Ginny embarrassedly as she sat down at the table, next to Hermione and across from Harry. "I didn't realize that everyone would be awake at this hour,"

Hermione softly smiled, "Did you sleep well?"

Ginny slowly nodded and then looked down at the table where she started to scratch at a chipped piece of wood.

Hermione was confused. Between the crying this morning, the gasp, the awkward stare and the now unusual silence, Hermione wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but before she could say anything to anyone, there was a sudden thump at the kitchen window.

"Hedwig!" cried Harry as he jumped out of his seat and ran to the closed kitchen window. He pushed the frame open and held it for Hedwig, but before he could close it, another owl jumped into the kitchen as well.

The second owl, a small brownish thing, flew into the kitchen, circled around Ginny's head and dropped a small box wrapped in red, holiday paper into her lap. And with a two short hoots, the small owl flew right back out of the kitchen window that Harry still had open.

"What is it?" asked Hermione as she leaned in closer to Ginny.

Ginny looked less then thrilled when she read the gift tag, "It's from Dean," she whispered, looking scared to open the package.

Hermione looked up at Harry, and noticed that he too had a look of contemplation on his face.

"So 're you gonna open it 'Arry?" asked Ron with a mouth full of cereal.

Harry shook his head as though he had only just realized he was amongst company, "Huh? Oh, oh… nah, it's nothing important…" he quickly said and then sat back down at the table with Hedwig still on his shoulder.

Ron shrugged and moved to close the window as he said, "I don't know what's gotten into you two, but I know something that will really fix things up!" Everyone turned to look at Ron,

"A big Weasley family snowball fight! It's tradition!" said Ron with a huge grin on his face.

Harry and Ginny smiled but Hermione had to deliver some bad news, "But Ron you and I can't partake in a snowball fight today."

Ron's face fell, "Why not?"

Hermione raised her left hand, exposing the ring that sat on her finger, "Because it's Christmas morning and not only have I not seen my parents, but we have to tell them we're engaged."

Ron stared at Hermione for a second and then playfully slapped himself on the forehead, "That's right, that's right… I proposed yesterday, didn't I?" said Ron slowly, "And here I had thought it had all been a horrible nightmare…"

Hermione picked up her cup and threatened to throw it at Ron when she heard someone say, "If you're going to throw something at him, please don't use my good china, dear." Hermione turned around and saw Mrs. Weasley smiling at her from inside the living room. Hermione blushed.

* * *

It was almost noon, and while the whole Weasley family was outside having the worlds biggest snowball fight ever, Hermione was pacing Ginny's bedroom floor as she practiced over and over her speech to her parents. 

"Mum, Dad… I know that what I'm about to say may shock you… oh who am I kidding? May shock them? I'll be lucky if they don't run up and shake me!"

Hermione plopped herself down on Ginny's bed and closed her eyes. She was ready to leave. She had gotten dressed an hour ago yet here she was, still in the Burrow and dressed in her winter coat, scarf, mittens and hat.

She was terrified, what could she say to them?

She knew what she _wanted_ to say, something along the lines of, "I'm engaged, and I'm getting married whether you agree with it or not. No, I'm not too young, and yes I will finish school – and yes, I love Ron and he loves me, so we're going to do it, whether you come or not."

This she wanted to say, but it was one thing to envision her parents in front of her, and another to actually have them there.

She took and deep breath, and released it. And as she did, she listened to the fun being had outside.

They were all playing, Ron included, for Hermione had decided that she should probably talk to her parents alone first, and then bring in the fiancé. Of course that was over an hour ago, and she knew that if she didn't do it soon, she would break down in a flood of tears.

"Okay." Hermione quietly said to herself as she rose off the bed. "I'm just going to get this over and done with… no more waiting…"

She walked into the center of the room and prepared to apparate. She closed her eyes, and thought of her three D's: Destination, Determination, and Deliberation. And without speaking, she took in a breath and spun on the spot.

But instead of apparating into her bedroom as she had planned, she tripped over her feet and fell face first on Ginny's bedroom floor.

"Ahhh!" screamed Hermione as her hand flew up to her face and rubbed her nose. She lay there on the ground for a few minutes, and after the pain in her face had passed, she slowly got up and tried again.

Again she didn't apparate, yet this time she stopped herself from falling over.

_What on earth is going on? I've done it before… _

Hermione stood there thinking, and thinking, and then she decided that she had better try a different location.

She released a breath, opened her eyes wide, and spun on the spot… only to have herself come crashing down again.

"God damn it!" she screamed, completely frustrated and sore. "Why can't I get in the kitchen?"

And then, as if someone had poured ice water down her back, her body froze in a cold shiver.

_Hogwarts is impossible to apparate into… but that takes a lot of spells to accomplish… powerful magic…_

As Hermione's fear grew she quickly searched her mind for a location outside of her house, and decided on the shed in her back yard, a place she was sure no one would see her arrive.

With her heart thumping, Hermione closed her eyes and spun around.

There was the sudden feeling of being suffocated, and Hermione tried to clam her nerves down as she waited for the feeling to pass, and then the invisible bands that were squeezing her let go, just as she heard a loud crash.

Hermione shut her eyes as a plastic rake fell on top of her head, and she was suddenly ever so grateful that her parents had plastic tools rather than metal ones.

The dark shed was packed full of items: rakes, a hoe, a lawnmower, flowering pots, and a whole list of other gardening supplies which made Hermione's arrival most unpleasant.

Hermione tried not to knock anything down as she leaned forward and tried to push the door open, but it didn't budge. She then pulled out her wand, whispered "Alohamora" and pushed again, but still nothing.

She paused, silently thinking and then she lit the tip of her wand and placed it against the bottom of the door. Slowly and slowly she could hear the door gently become unstuck as the piled up snow on the other side melted away.

After a few minutes, the door opened and Hermione squeezed herself outside and into her parent's back yard.

She should have felt safe, she was home and the sun was shining brightly from behind the winter clouds, but all Hermione could think about was why her house had been made unapparatable.

Her eyes darted from window to window, carefully taking everything in, trying to determine if something was up. She kept her wand in her hand, ready to strike, while trying to decided how best to enter her house.

She decided that she would try to enter from the basement, in hopes that she could attack unsuspected. She got down really low, and waddled over to one of the windows, and then melted away the snow.

When she had finally gotten safely inside the basement, Hermione lit the tip of her wand and quietly made her way to the stairs.

And the she stood at the bottom step, staring at the door leading into a kitchen, when she thought she heard her mother's voice… well it wasn't her voice, but her hum… humming a tune that made Hermione's heart race…

_It can't be!_ thought Hermione wildly… _She can't be singing that! She doesn't know that song! That's a brand new song! That's a –_

"Weird sister's song." Said Hermione out loud. The second she had said it, she clasped her left hand over her mouth, horrified at what she might have just done.

Her heart was racing as she listened intently to the voice above, praying that it hadn't stopped.

But stopped it had, and Hermione could hear the scuffling of feet over head…

Hermione threw herself around the stairs and extinguished her wand, as her heart pounded and pounded on.

Normally she wouldn't have hid, but her mother's voice… humming to a tune in which she didn't know… in which she shouldn't know, unless… unless she was a witch…

The door above opened slowly and the basement, which had been dark only moments ago, was now partly illuminated by the light from the kitchen above.

All was silent…

Hermione was frozen. She didn't know what was going on, she didn't know what to do, but her wand was still gripped firmly in her hand. And then she heard it, the sound she had been dreading… footsteps… someone coming down the stairs… wearing her mother's slippers… holding a wand…

Hermione raised her wand and thought in her head, "Petrificus Totalus" and the figure on the stairs fell forward with a crash.

Hermione rushed forward and looked down at the person on the ground, lying on her stomach, in her mother's robe and slippers.

Hermione was about to roll to the person over when she heard more scuffling of feet, and then a voice she hadn't expected to hear –

"Tonks! Tonks, are you alright?" cried Remus Lupin.


	4. Green Velvet and Crimson Blood

Author's Note: Hello everyone! Let me just say that I'm sorry I took so long... I had this project on Marlon Brando... enough said. Anyways I hope you like this chapter, and I have the next little while off from school, I'm supposed to study for exams but... I'll make sure I get a chapter or two done as well.

Gabby :)

* * *

-Green Velvet and Crimson Blood-

"What a stupid, horrible gift! I mean honestly, he can't expect me to wear that!" whispered Ginny to herself as she paced her bedroom floor. It was four o'clock and Ginny had spent the last hour in her room mortified by her Christmas gift from Dean.

"Who would wear such a thing?" she questioned to herself as she plopped herself down on her bed. She sat there with a look of disgust at the necklace in her hand – a pink bunny charm with the words "Some-bunny Loves You!" written in gold on it's stomach – Ginny felt her own stomach turn.

_What kind of a girl does he think I am?_

Ginny snorted and tossed the necklace onto her nightstand, and just as she did, she caught a glimpse of something green. Ginny's heart skipped a beat as she recognized what it was, and she leaned over and slowly pulled the diary out from under a mountain of holiday wrap.

How could she have forgotten about this? Harry's gift to her… a beautiful velvet diary, plush green… soft and smooth with her name spelt in gold letters on the front…

She gently rubbed her hands on the soft material and stared at the green velvet as though she were staring into his eyes… and then she opened the diary to the first page, and saw some thing she hadn't seen the night before…

Merry Christmas Ginny!

Love, Harry

… it was sweet…

… it was simple…

… it was some thing you'd expect to see written in a Christmas gift, but for some reason the L-word got to her.

She was sure that Harry hadn't meant anything by it. Of course not, he was just being nice… everyone writes "Love so-and-so" on gift tags, don't they? Only this was the first time that she had gotten a "Love Harry" gift tag.

Usually it was "Your Friend Harry" or "Your Annoying Quidditch Captain (Whom I Know You Make Fun Of Behind My Back) Harry" - but never, ever "love" before.

Ginny shook her head, and smiled softly to herself, for now she knew she was over analyzing. She let go of a deep sigh and gently crawled onto the bed, and fell into the memory of two hours earlier…

… they had been outside, all of them, playing a seemingly never ending snowball fight and her and Harry had been on opposite teams…

… her team was winning, the score was way, way up and Harry, Ron, Fred, George and Charlie knew that they had no chance of winning. She remembered peering around the oak tree that she was pressed against. She could still see in her minds eye the image of Harry getting ready to throw a snow ball at her, trying to get his aim around the trunk…

… he smiled at her, no not smiled… grinned a devilish grin just before he had come charging towards her in an attempt to run around the tree…

… he had run forward, gotten around the tree and had grabbed onto her robes when he had slipped on a patch of ice and bought the both of them crashing down to the ground…

Ginny blushed as she remembered how he had tried to save her from falling down, and how she had come crashing down on top of him, face to face… they had started to laugh and laugh as the lay there, her on top of him… and it was only after three blissful minutes that Ginny had finally climbed off of Harry and had helped him to his feet.

Ginny sighed again. She felt like she was beaming on the inside and had the greatest desire to express it to someone, but unfortunately Hermione had still not returned from her mother's house.

It was odd… she had left before noon, and she was supposed to have come back for Ron… it was strange. With four hours past and no word from Hermione, Ginny knew that Ron was downstairs in the kitchen at this very moment, talking with mum and dad, trying to clam down his nerves.

She had heard him before, about an hour ago when he had realized that Hermione still wasn't back, and his reaction had not been a good one:

"What if her mum is really mad? I mean, what if they're yelling at her right now, forbidding her to marry me? I'll forever be known as the evil boy who stole their daughter away…"

Ginny knew that her parents were trying their best to assure Ron that every thing was fine, but as the minutes continued to past, every one was beginning to worry.

Ginny paused and listened to the sounds around her. She could hear her mother's worried voice from down stairs and concluded that Hermione was still not back, yet decided that she should probably offer her support to Ron.

Ginny slowly got off her bed and headed down stairs.

* * *

"I'm sure everything is fine, Ron," reassured Molly Weasley just as Ginny walked into the kitchen. Molly, Arthur, and Ron were seated at the kitchen table as the fire from the stove roared in the back and lit up the room. 

Ginny weakly smiled to Ron when she walked in. He was slouched in his seat and perked up at the sound of her entering the room; he glanced at her and then returned to staring down at the table.

Ginny walked over to her mother, "She's still not home?" Ginny already knew the answer, but Molly shook her head anyways.

Ginny sighed and began to walk over to the fridge for a glass of milk when she saw something flash outside. Ginny paused and glared outside the window. It was quickly becoming dark outside but she could make out the outline of three people, with wands in there hands…

"Dad - there are wizards outside!" called Ginny hurriedly to her father. Arthur got up from his seat quickly and pulled his wand out of his pocket and headed over to the door.

There were a few sharp thuds at the door, and Ginny looked over at the table and saw that her mother and Ron had also sprung up. Arthur called through the door, "Identify your self!"

"Arthur – it's me, Remus! Open the door quick, I have Hermione with me!"

Arthur opened the door to reveal Remus and Tonks in ripped clothing, holding up an unconscious Hermione in between them.

Molly let out a sharp cry which was heard throughout the house and Ron ran forward and grabbed Hermione from the two weak-looking aurors.

There was an explosion of commotion as Ron picked up Hermione in his arms and carried her into the living room. Arthur and Molly helped Remus and Tonks inside and locked the doors with spells as the rest of the Weasley family came charging down the stairs.

Fleur let out her own sharp cry and grabbed close to Bill when she saw Hermione lying in ripped, blood soaked clothing on the couch, and Harry ran forward and stood behind Ron who was kneeling down on the ground.

Everyone stared and began to whisper as they were trying to figure out what had just happen, when Molly and Tonks walked into the living room.

"Mum, what happened?" asked Fred as he stared over at Tonks who was holding onto Molly for support. Molly didn't answer her son, but instead led Tonks over to sit down on one of the big chairs as everyone slowly moved out of the way.

Tonks had a hard time sitting down. Her body looked sore and aching and she had thick lines of semi-dry crimson blood running down her left cheek from her hair line.

"Fred – George – I need you both to get me two big bowls of hot water. Ginny dear, please go up stairs and grab me some face towels."

Ginny nodded and ran up the stairs as Fred and George headed into the kitchen.

"What on earth iz goin' on?" asked Fleur from the comfort of Bill's embrace.

Tonks opened her eyes and opened her mouth to speak just as Remus and Arthur walked into the room.

"I've sent a message to Dumbledore, he'll be here shortly." called Remus across the room to Tonks. Everyone's gaze quickly bounced from Remus to Tonks and back to Remus and they all waited for an explanation, but Ron was the first to speak,

"What happened?" he asked firmly, trying to keep his voice even and the tears from falling down his cheeks. His gaze stayed on Hermione and her hand that was in his, but everyone else was staring at the back of Ron's head.

Remus took a breath and stepped forward. He bent down and placed his hand on Ron's shoulder, "She'll be okay. She's just got hit really hard over the head while trying to run away from a death eater."

Ginny and the twins came into the room justas everyone else let out a gasp of shock, but Remus continued on, "Dumbledore set us to protect Hermione's parents… he had heard that Lucius Malfoy may have been trying to use the Granger's as bait to catch Hermione, and hopefully Harry too…"

"What would Lucius want with Hermione?" asked Molly innocently.

Ron and Remus looked over at Mrs. Weasley. Ron contemplated whether or not he should tell her the truth, but he figured it was the best thing to do,

"Hermione's the reason Draco Malfoy got sent to Azkaban," began Ron and the room became silent once more. "Well Hermione's not _the reason_ why… it's a long story mum…"

Molly's eyes were wide, "You mean to tell me that that Malfoy boy used an unforgivable curse on _Hermione_?" Ron slowly nodded and looked back down to his fiancé.

Everyone in the room was quiet, and a few moments later, the fireplace lit up with tall green flames and Dumbledore came walking out of the fire. He gently brushed off his robes, and looked around the room. He saw Arthur Weasley and nodded, and then saw Molly and said gently, "I apologize for coming some what unannounced, Molly," and then he walked over to where Hermione was laying.

Dumbledore leaned forward and Ron moved out of the way so the headmaster could check her over. After a few moments Dumbledore pulled himself away from the girl and nodded, "She'll be fine. She just needs some rest."

Dumbledore then stood up and looked around the room. Remus Lupin stepped forward, "Are the Granger's alright, Dumbledore?"

"Yes, they made it to Hogwarts safely. They'll stay there for a few days, till they become themselves again and then I'll have them stay with a relative of theirs in Sussex."

Remus nodded. He seemed to be the only one whom understood what was going on, but Molly was quick to speak up,

"Dumbledore… what happened? Is it true that Draco Malfoy used an unforgivable curse on Hermione, and now the death eaters are after her?"

Dumbledore nodded, "Yes it seems that Lucius Malfoy not only wanted revenge on Miss Granger, but also concluded that he might be able to attack Harry in the process. But everyone is safe and sound. Ronald," said Dumbledore gently.

Ron stood up and faced the headmaster, "You'll need to keep a close eye on Hermione tonight. Don't leave her side, and make sure she gets enough sleep."

Ron nodded and bent over. He lifted Hermione off the couch with ease and just as he was going to head up stairs, Dumbledore placed his hand on his shoulder, smiled softly and whispered, "She'll be alright… and congratulations on the engagement."

Ron didn't know how Dumbledore knew of his and Hermione's engagement, but instead of asking, he merely nodded and headed up stairs with Hermione in his arms.

Dumbledore watched the couple leave and then turned to everyone else. "Well Molly, I'm sure you wouldn't mind to let Remus and Nymphadora rest a while,"

Molly weakly smiled, "Of course not. You can both stay the night and then some, it will be my pleasure."

"Thank you Molly," whispered Tonks weakly.

Dumbledore continued on, "With the Granger's at Hogwarts I think it would be most appropriate to have Hermione leave as soon as possible to be with her parents. They're very shaken up by the whole ordeal and would likely enjoy her company.

"She should be ready to travel tomorrow, so I'll have your fireplace linked directly to Professor McGonagall's office for five minutes after noon tomorrow."

Dumbledore turned to face Harry, "You and Miss Weasley can come to if you like… classes do start in ten days."

Harry nodded and turned to face Ginny whom also nodded in response.

"Well… now that every thing is in place, I have to get back to Hogwarts. Good Night."

For a few moments after Dumbledore left, no one really moved or said much. Mrs. Weasley wiped the dried blood off of Tonks face and then her and Ginny helped Nymphadora up stairs to change into a clean pair of clothes.

Bill, Charlie and Arthur sat next to Remus and asked him for full details of what happen, and Percy and Fleur went to bed as Fred and George prepared Ron's old room on the third floor for Tonks and Remus to spend the night.

Twenty minutes later when Molly and Ginny had finished helping Tonks to bed, they headed towards Ron's bedroom, and found Ron and Harry looking down at Hermione's sleeping body.

Ron had cleaned her face off of blood with a moist towel and was sitting beside her on the bed. A small lamp on the table was lit, and offered a gentle glow to the room.

Harry smiled when he saw Molly and Ginny enter the room, "She woke up, a few moments ago. She said that her body felt weak and sore, but that she felt fine."

Tears came down Molly's eyes as she rushed forward and hugged her son, "She'll be alright Ron, every thing will be fine."

Molly kissed her son on the forehead and then pulled away and brushed herself off. "Well, we have a full house tonight. Fred and George have decided to head home but Remus and Tonks are upstairs in your old room, Ron."

Ron nodded and then looked back down at Hermione.

Molly nodded to herself and then turned to Harry and Ginny, "Harry, you wouldn't mind spending the night in Ginny's room, would you?"


	5. Everything Will be Alright

**Author's Note:** Hey, I've got another chapter for you guys... I was really in the writing mood...

Enjoy! And feel free to give me some feed-back!

* * *

-Everything Will be Alright- 

"Do you think she'll be alright, Harry?"

"Yeah… she seemed okay. She told Ron that everyone was safe but that she was tired and sore… and then she just dozed off…"

Ginny looked down at her sheets, "I guess it was only a matter of time, really. Not a bad idea to use someone you really care for as bait… and Lucius probably had no trouble finding Hermione's home address, what with all of the connections he has…"

Harry too was staring down at his own sheets. They had been talking for a while now, just him and Ginny; her on her bed, and him on the floor beside her. The little purple lamp on the nightstand was lit and the bedroom door was open wide. Every now and then someone would walk by the doorway. They'd stop to look in and add to the conversation; and then yawn and say they were heading off to bed, but they never actually did fall asleep.

Ron had been stopping by often, and Molly had been by twice in the last hour to scold them into going to bed. But Ginny and Harry were much to awake to sleep; the events of six hours earlier still seemed to be pounding in their veins.

"I heard Lupin talking to your father…" said Harry, "It seems that a lot has been going on in the past month. Sounds like Dumbledore is going to turn Hogwarts into some kind of a safe house for the students."

Ginny looked up at Harry, "What do you mean?"

Harry looked up and sighed, "Lupin was talking about curfews and extra security. I think we'll be getting aurors to stand guard inside and out of Hogwarts… I don't know what Dumbledore has been hearing lately, but it doesn't sound good."

Ginny raised an eyebrow, "I thought you and Dumbledore shared all kinds of information... I thought for sure you'd know if anything was happening."

Harry looked down embarrassedly; what was he to say? He had wanted so badly to have Dumbledore confide in him completely, but he knew during his conversations with the headmaster that he was still holding back information, as though trying hard not to worry Harry.

"Well I – haven't really talked to Dumbledore much lately, " said Harry, "he's been really busy and unavailable lately."

Ginny nodded slowly off, "Yeah… I guess so."

And there they lay, in their separate beds, each with their own thoughts, each with their own worries…

Ginny heard the floor creek, and broke out of her trace to look up and see Ron standing in the doorway, looking horribly tired and troubled.

"Alright Ron?" whispered Harry to his best friend. Ron slowly nodded and took a few heavy steps forward. He reached the foot of Harry's makeshift bed and slumped down to the floor.

Harry and Ginny watched as Ron slowly covered his face in his hands, and after a few moments, dropped them to his side. He looked awful, what with the dark circles under his eyes and his hair sticking up every which way. Ginny felt a ping in her heart and spoke, "How are things?"

Ron looked up, "Good… good…" he trailed off, as though he had forgotten what the question was.

Harry, now sitting up in bed, reached forward and patted his friend on the shoulder, "Everything will be alright."

Ron half-smiled, "You know, everyone keeps telling me that. 'Everything will be alright.' That's not it, though. I know everything will be alright. I just –" he stopped mid-sentence just as his anger was rising. He took a deep breath and then continued on in a normal tone, "I just feel like such an ass. I should have gone with her. It was simple. So simple, and yet, I didn't do it. She asked me if I wanted to go, and I, being to scared to face her parents convinced her that she should break the news to them first, with out me there."

Ron let his head drop, "If only I would have went… I could have helped her."

Ginny watched as her brother sat in a pool of sadness on the floor.

"Ron what happened, happened and everyone is safe. There's no use feeling regretful for something that you had no idea about. And I mean really, it was probably better that you hadn't gone anyways," said Ginny as Ron looked up at her.

Ron raised his eyebrow to the last comment made and Ginny explained, "Charlie walked by an hour or so ago. He saw that we were awake and told us what he heard from Lupin. Supposedly it was really bad…" Ginny took a deep breath and got ready to recite the information,

"Tonks and Lupin had arrived on Christmas Eve at the Granger's house. Lupin told us that they were caught off guard when Hermione broke into the house through the basement earlier today - Dumbledore had made the house unapparatable," she explained as Ron's body perked up at the new information.

"Hermione was in the basement and heard noises from up stairs, and then Tonks came down into the basement. Hermione wasn't expecting to see a wizard and petrified Tonks. Then Lupin came down and explained everything to Hermione. I guess after that they went up stairs and Hermione talked to her parents, explaining to them what was going on."

Ginny smiled to herself, "Charlie told us that the Granger's were really interested in all of the magic, especially Tonks' talent as a metamorphmagus… Tonks supposedly dressed up in Mrs. Granger's robe and slippers and pranced around the house in the form of Hermione's mother… anyways it wasn't too long before the Death Eaters came," Ginny's eyes narrowed in anger as she imagined the scene.

"You have to remember, it's Christmas Day today. Well, at least it was," said Ginny as she looked over her shoulder to the table clock which read two minutes after midnight. She turned round and continued on,

"People were visiting the house all day. Dropping off gifts, saying hello… you know the usual stuff. Mostly Tonks would open the door disguised as Mrs. Granger. She would greet the visitors but claim that she was very, very ill and would close the door quickly after.

"They did that the whole day. Lupin thinks that the entire town came to the house, they had so many visitors. But the Death Eaters came around three o'clock. They knocked on the back door, and Mrs. Granger who was alone in the kitchen mistaken them for the elderly neighbour and opened the door for them. Thankfully Hermione heard the knock and ran into the kitchen as the Death Eaters stormed in."

Ginny paused as she saw Ron's body tense up, "It was chaos, Lupin said. There were five Death Eaters who came charging into the house, blasting everything in sight. Hermione grabbed a hold of her mother and pushed her out of the kitchen, just as a spell missed her leg… it was bad. As the spells shot in the air pieces of wall and ceiling broke apart, dishes and vases were blasted into pieces, and when they ran into the living room…" Ginny paused, closed her eyes and continued, "…it was a war zone. Tonks and Lupin did their best to fight off the Death Eaters as Hermione pushed her parents up the stairs to the second floor, while turning over her shoulder to fend off anyone who followed."

Ginny looked down at her bed sheets. Although she hadn't been there, she could vividly imagine the scene. The screams of Mrs. Granger… the dust and debris that filled the house… the streaks of light flashing by, inches from the face as spells and hexes were being thrown around dangerously…

Ron and Harry seemed to have had their own reenactments of what happened running through their head for neither spoke a word. And after a few more moments of silence, Ron slowly got up.

He breathed in, slow and deep, "Well, I'm heading off to bed. I better get some sleep if I'm going to leave for Hogwarts tomorrow."

"We better do the same," said Harry as he glanced over to Ginny, "We're going too."

Ron nodded and walked out of the room.

Ginny and Harry were alone once again, but this time instead of talking, they got themselves ready for bed.

Harry laid down on the pile of blankets underneath him, his back to the floor.

Ginny fixed her sheets and when she was ready, she reached over to the nightstand which was behind Harry's head and turned off the lamp.

"Ouch!" whispered Harry in the dark.

"What is it?" asked Ginny from above.

"Something fell on my forehead, just as you reached to turn off the light."

Ginny leaned over once more and turned the light back on. She then peered over the side of her bed and watched as Harry searched the floor for the unknown object.

"Here it is!" said Harry, and to Ginny's horror, he lifted up the pink bunny necklace.

Ginny's eyes widened as she watched in anguish as Harry lifted the necklace to his face and read the rabbit's stomach. After he read it he looked up at Ginny and grinned, "So, who is this 'bunny' who loves you so much?"

Ginny made a swipe for the necklace but Harry moved his hand out of the way just in time. Ginny sat back on her bed and said embarrassedly, "Dean gave it to me for Christmas."

Harry didn't know what to say. Was she being honest, or was she pulling his leg? He looked at her with a smirk and then reread the gold letters. _She must be joking! No guy could ever be so stupid as to give Ginny a gift like this._

But when Harry looked back at Ginny and saw that the embarrassed look was still on her face, he lost his grin immediately and placed the necklace gently in her hand.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"Don't be." said Ginny as she stared into Harry's eyes and embarrassedly smiled, "I can't believe he actually thought that I'd like it. It's so not…"

"You." finished Harry plainly.

There was a pause, a long tense pause where both of them wondered what they should say next. The moment seemed perfect, almost story book like, and it was on the tip of their tongues to tell each other how they really felt for one another…

"Ginny, I –" began Harry.

"Aren't you two in bed yet?" whispered Mrs. Weasley angrily as she stood rooted in the doorway. "I want that light shut off immediately Ginny, Harry needs his rest, and so do you!"

Harry and Ginny's heads turned to face Mrs. Weasley who was staring at her daughter with an icy cold look.

"Yes mum," whispered Ginny as she leaned over and turned out the light.

Molly waited in the doorway for a few moments, and when she was satisfied that both Ginny and Harry were actually trying to sleep, she walked down the hallway and to the master bedroom.

Ron was in the process of closing his bedroom door when he looked down the hall and saw his mother heading towards the other end. He sighed and gently closed the door and locked it.

The room was softly lit by a single candle on the dresser that was parallel to the bed where Hermione was sleeping. She had waken up earlier and with Ron's help had gotten dressed in a pair of Ron's shorts and a shirt.

Ron stood beside the bed and stared down at his fiancé. He watched as she sleep peacefully in the big bed. His heart ached. Normally he would have given anything to have Hermione in bed with him, but not under these circumstances.

He let go of a deep breath and quietly got undressed. He slipped on his baggy plaid pants, and then lifted the covers of the bed and gently lay down. When he turned to face Hermione he thought he saw the outline of a smile on her lips, but there wasn't enough light to tell.

"Are you awake?" Ron asked gently and Hermione smiled wider.

"Yes, I am and I don't think I could be happier." She said as she slowly opened her eyes.

Ron was still worried about her condition and half-smiled, "How are you feeling? Are you hurting anywhere? Can I get you anything?"

"I'm fine honey, don't worry." smiled Hermione as she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. After their lips gently touched, she pulled away and slowly lay her head back down on the pillow, "I'm just very tired. Exhausted actually, but I'll be fine tomorrow, I'll be ready to travel to Hogwarts."

Ron nodded to himself and then watched Hermione as she closed her eyes and slowly fell back asleep.

He lay there facing her, and continued to stare until he was sure she was in a deep sleep, and then he slowly reached over and put out the candle. And there in the darkness of Ron's bedroom, Ron and Hermione spent their first night sleeping together.


	6. Twelve Pancakes Each

**Author's Blab!**

Hey, I have another chapter here for you guys! I hope you enjoy it, for I really enjoyed writing the second half of the chapter. Hope you like!

And don't forget to review, for I get terribly worried when I don't hear anything from you guys... it bugs me!

With Love, Gabby ;)

* * *

-Twelve Pancakes Each- 

It was eight o'clock in the morning on Boxing Day and Hermione was feeling very good as she lay in bed, Ron's bed, and stared at her fiancé.

She smiled as she watched Ron sleep silently next to her and thanked high-heaven that her soon-to-be husband was not a snorer.

She lay quietly next to him, and because the house seemed fairly quiet, she felt no need to rush out of Ron's room just yet.

It was probably the best experience; waking up to the one you love and she didn't want to end it for the world… but she was also feeling exceptionally horny at the same time…

Ron suddenly made an awkward noise in his sleep and rolled onto his back. Hermione lay rigidly in bed and waited until he stopped moving before she moved an inch.

She was torn.

Should she lay there quietly and watch him sleep? Or should she ruin a perfect moment and wake him up to make hot, passionate love?

Hermione got hotter as she thought about Ron holding her in his arms as he gently slid in and out of her… his hands rubbing her back and traveling down to squeeze at her butt… his soft lips on her neck and his hot breath in her ear…

Hermione made up her mind right then and there and she smiled as she gently pulled herself close to him. She carefully lifted her arm and placed it gently on his chest, but Ron didn't wake up.

She then lifted her hand and gently began to rub his chest, but he still remained sleeping.

Hermione redden. She felt foolish for what she was doing but she was oh-so-desperate at the same time and so she lifted her hand up to his head and began to finger his hair; still nothing.

And so, becoming increasingly frustrated, she did the one thing she knew would work for sure. She slowly lowered her hand underneath the covers, gently lifted up the waist of Ron's pants and slowly rubbed him up and down.

After a few minutes Ron was slowly pulled out of sleep and he smirked as he opened his eyes and looked to his left. There was Hermione with a small, innocent smile on her face as her left hand was busy down his pants.

"I see you're feeling better." He said and rolled over on his side. Hermione removed her hand and pulled Ron into a tight hug. She took in a deep breath and enjoyed the scent of him fully.

"Yes, I am feeling better; I'm feeling great! And do you know why?"

Ron pouted his lips, "Is it because you gave me a morning hard on?"

Hermione softly punched his arm and smiled, "No, it's because I got to wake up next to you this morning."

Ron smiled in return, "That was my second guess."

Hermione smiled and then sighed, "Yesterday was quite a day, wasn't it?"

"You tell me. I heard from Ginny that **five** Death Eaters attacked your house…"

"Yes, there were five… but I have to say, I'd much rather take on a million Death Eaters than have to confront my parents about getting married ever again."

Ron's heart froze when he heard this. With all of the focus being on Hermione's safety, Ron had completely forgotten the reason why she had returned home in the first place.

"Was it really that bad?" asked Ron timidly, unsure whether or not he wanted the answer.

Hermione smiled, "Actually, it wasn't that bad at all. I think the whole issue of mine and their lives being in danger made my getting married so young in life seem like a gust of wind, compared to the tornado I was expecting."

Ron looked Hermione in the eye, "So… that means they're okay with it? I mean they don't hate me, do they? Can I expect to have death threats coming to me soon?"

Hermione laughed and then quickly lowered her voice, "No, there won't be any death threats coming your way. But you must keep quite," she whispered as she slowly crawled on top of Ron, "I really wouldn't want anyone to interrupt us."

When Hermione was sitting firmly on top of Ron, she grabbed the bottom hem of the baggy shirt she was wearing and lifted it up and over her head.

Ron stared up at Hermione who was sitting on top of him, bare breasted and looking absolutely breath taking. He smiled and closed his eyes as he reached forward and pulled Hermione down for a hug.

He hugged her long and tight, silently promising to himself that he would never, ever let her go. But after a few moments, his grip released and Hermione kissed him gently on the lips.

She kissed him again, but this time his lips parted and Hermione gently rubbed his tongue with hers.

They kissed silently, with every other kiss causing their breaths to quicken, and before they knew it, Hermione was rocking back and forth on top of Ron; him inside of her. Both of them were trying their best to hold in their cries of passion, for the last thing they wanted was to be interrupted…

Maybe it was the drama from the night before, the fact that one of them may have died. Or maybe it was just the silence of it all, but some how Hermione and Ron made love for a full hour, without stopping once. And when it was over, Hermione rolled off of Ron and lay on the bed beside him, happy as ever.

_

* * *

_

_Knock-knock!_

"Who is it?"

"Ginny it's me," said Hermione through the door. Ginny put down her knapsack and walked across the room.

It was 9:20 am and Hermione had just left Ron and decided she should stop by Ginny's room and make sure everything was alright. Hermione knew that Ginny had been acting strange yesterday and she was concerned.

"Hey," began Hermione with a smile on her face, "everything alright?"

"Yup," said Ginny cheerfully, "everything is pretty good. How are you feeling?" asked Ginny more concerned.

Hermione lifted her hand and waved, "Good, good. But Ron's gone and made a big enough fuss over it to last a life time so I don't want to hear anymore about it." she said with a smile. "Everyone is safe and that's all that matters."

Ginny smiled at Hermione and let her into the room. Hermione walked up to Ginny's bed and sat down, and Ginny continued to pack her things.

Hermione quietly watched as Ginny packed her knapsack full of school items, and as she watched, she couldn't help but notice that Ginny was blushing.

Hermione smiled, "So, I see you're in a better mood."

Ginny turned around, "Hmm?"

Hermione smiled, "I don't know, you just seemed so down yesterday morning, and now you're blushing and smiling to yourself."

Ginny blushed even harder, "Well, yesterday I had a lot on my mind. And now… I have even more."

"Care to share?" asked Hermione now grinning as she wondered what had made her friend so happy. Ginny stopped packing and slowly turned to face Hermione.

She took a deep breath and got very serious, "Okay. But if I tell you, you have to promise not to say anything to anyone. Especially Ron, because he'll just make a big deal out of-"

Hermione raised her hand and cut off Ginny, "I promise I will not tell a soul. Not even Ron. And you know, just because I'm going to marry your brother doesn't mean that you can't trust me with your secrets anymore. I'm not going to tell him anything."

"Good." said Ginny and she ran to her bedroom door and locked it shut. "Okay. I don't know how to say it, so I'll just say it," she began getting all worked up inside. "I think I'm head-over-heels in love."

Hermione's eyes widened and she leaned forward on the bed with interest. "Really? Are you sure? Have you told him how you feel?"

Ginny bit her lip, "No, but it's kind of hard, I mean I don't know how he feels about me."

Hermione made a face, "Well you've been dating for more than two years Gin. I think he must feel the same way, don't you?"

At those words, Ginny froze on the spot and stared at Hermione.

Here she was, expressing to Hermione her feelings for Harry while Hermione thought that she was talking about Dean.

_Dean,_ reminded her head,_ as in your boyfriend, Dean._

Ginny gulped down and quickly lost her smile as a thick sheet of guilt slipped over her. How had she forgotten about him? Dean, the guy she had been with for two years… _I mean sure, it hasn't been the greatest two years, but how could I just forget all about him?_

Ginny slowly walked towards the bed and let her body slump down.

"Ginny what's wrong?" asked Hermione worried.

Ginny looked over at Hermione beside her and slowly shook her head, "You thought I was talking about Dean, didn't you?"

Hermione stared at Ginny with an odd expression and then she let out a low "ohhhh" and nodded her head.

"Is it who I think it is?" she asked as she eyed down to the makeshift bed on the floor where Harry had been sleeping only an hour before.

Ginny bit her lip again and nodded slowly. "I feel so stupid! I mean, how could this happen? I thought I was over him, I really did. But then, on the night of Christmas Eve … I don't know!" said Ginny as she got off of her bed and threw her arms in the air.

The frustration within her was slowly raising, for she had had this talk with Hermione so many times before, and each time had only left her more hopeless then the last. But she didn't care how hopeless she would be feeling in the next twenty minutes, she needed to say it again,

"I mean, why do I always think about him? Why? I thought I was over him, I really did! I told myself that if he didn't want to date me, fine. **I'd - be - fine**. I believed it too. And I was okay - I was fine!

"I mean sure, when I found out he was dating Luna, I was hurt! I mean, who wouldn't be? But I didn't say anything. I didn't spend days and days crying my eyes out over it. I mean, sure, sometimes when I think about him holding her in the hallway... kissing her and hugging her tight," began Ginny, the anger and jealously raising in her, "staring at her with his beautifully green eyes - I get jealous! I mean, why should she be so lucky? Huh? What does he see in her that's **sooo** great? What makes her better than me?" Ginny asked more to fate than to Hermione.

"I mean I'm good looking, right?"

Hermione nodded.

"Yeah, and-and I play quidditch! I mean, have you seen her? Half the time when Harry tries to talk about quidditch to her, she just goes off on this wild story of how the Quidditch World Cup is a cover-up for the evil doings of the Ministry for Magic! I mean, what the hell is that?" asked Ginny, and Hermione shrugged her shoulders.

Ginny continued to pace the floor angrily, "I have **way **more in common with him then she has, and, and-"

She didn't know what else to say that would confirm that she was in fact a better match for Harry, and so instead of talking, she stopped pacing the floor and hung her head into her hands. She had been trying for so long to hold back the tears, but this time she didn't care. She just cried softly into the palms of her hands.

Hermione got off of the bed and went to comfort Ginny. She walked up behind her and gently placed an arm around her back, soothingly hugging her.

"Don't worry… Everything will work out… Everything will turn out the way it was meant to be."

Ginny slowly wiped her face and smiled at Hermione. She knew what the statement was: the fate card, used by girls all over the world at a time when their friends were in need of hope.

It read like a bottle of face cream, the kind that older women cling to in hopes of stopping the effects of time: _One quick application will leave you feeling fresher and more confident then before! Will stop the effects of time and will make near impossible things happen in the blink of an eye!_

It's one of those statements that girls hate to hear, but always say to their friends in a time of need: put your faith into the fact that if it was meant to be, it will happen, somehow and against all odds.

"Come on," said Hermione as she gently walked Ginny towards the door, "Let's go downstairs and have a big pancake breakfast! We'll have twelve pancakes each with lots of whip cream and strawberries… oh and chocolate shavings too…"


	7. Behind the Curtain

-Behind the Curtain-

It was four minutes after noon and Ginny was still upstairs in her bedroom.

"Ginny you're going to miss the fire! Come down now!" called Mrs. Weasley up the stairs to her daughter. Hermione, Ron and Harry had already traveled to Hogwarts via the fireplace but Ginny had only realized at the last moment that she had forgotten her diary from Harry.

As the minutes were quickly counting down before the link between the Burrow and Professor McGonagall's office closed, Ginny was franticly ripping apart her bed in search for the missing diary.

"Thirty seconds Ginny! Come down now, and I'll send it to you by owl!" Ginny did not respond immediately for something green had just caught her eye.

"Mum, I'm coming!" she screamed as she shoved the velvet book into her knapsack and ran out the room, down the stairs and to the fireplace where her mother was holding a flower pot in one hand.

Ginny shoved her hand into the flowerpot and grabbed a pinch of flew powder. She then threw the powder inside the fireplace and watched as the flames quickly changed from red to green. She then ran into the flames, yelled out the word "Hogwarts" and held onto her bag tightly.

"Well Miss Weasley, we were afraid you wouldn't be joining us today." said Professor McGonagall as Ginny stepped out of the fireplace.

"Sorry Professor, I almost left a textbook behind," lied Ginny as she noticed the professor sitting behind her desk, paper in hand.

Minerva McGonagall nodded once and Ginny walked past the professor's desk and out the office door. Standing out side was Harry, holding his own bag with a smile.

"I thought you were going to miss it."

Ginny looked up and smiled back, "I almost did. Where's the couple?"

"Oh they headed straight for the hospital wing, that's where Hermione's parents are. But I think its best we give them some time alone, they've had a rough couple of days."

Ginny nodded in agreement and her and Harry slowly turned the corner and walked silently down the second floor corridor.

Because Christmas Holidays would not be over for another nine days, the Hogwarts castle seemed absolutely barren. There were only about half a dozen students whom had chosen to stay for the holidays, and they were currently all in their respective common rooms.

Harry and Ginny walked down the hall slowly, taking their time and enjoying the peacefulness of it all.

When they reached the large section of castle that was devoted to the shifting staircases, they could hear their footsteps echoing loudly around them, the higher they climbed the louder the echo.

"It's so quiet," whispered Ginny, for she felt like anything above a whisper was inappropriate, "It's kind of eerie."

"Really? You think so?" asked Harry as he stopped on the next step and threw his head back and yelled, "HELLO! ANY ONE AROUND?"

Ginny was a step higher and laughed as she looked down at Harry and listened to his voice echoing a million times off of the walls.

Harry glanced at Ginny and saw that she was smiling, and he felt his heartbeat quickly race. He grinned and then tiled his head back again, "COME OUT, COME OUT, WHERE EVER YOU ARE!"

Ginny laughed again, but suddenly gasped when she heard a crashing noise coming from the floor below.

Harry and Ginny stood frozen halfway up the staircase staring downwards, (Harry's voice echoing in the background), when they heard Filch's screams coming from the corridor below, "Peeves let me GO!"

"Not until you say sorry for hurting my feelings!" said Peeves in an annoyingly mocking voice.

"Peeves-I-have-to-catch-who-ever-is-yelling-" came Filch's voice from the corridor as he struggle to release himself from Peeves' grip.

Harry looked back up at Ginny and smiled in a mischievous, shocked expression and then he shoved his hand behind Ginny's back and ran with her up the staircase. They both held on tight to their bags as they ran up the flight of stairs and headed up another, just as Filch came around the corner of the corridor and spotted them.

"You! Come back here! You can't go yelling through the castle!"

Harry and Ginny laughed as they continued to run up the flight of stairs. When they hit the landing they turned and headed over to another staircase, but just as they set foot on the second step, the staircase began to shift.

"Oh no!" whispered Ginny as she and Harry grabbed each other and held on tight. They slowly climbed a few more steps and held onto the railing so not to fall five stories as the staircase detached itself and shifted, sidetracking them from the would be sixth floor to the fourth.

Harry looked over his shoulder and saw that Filch had seen the change in direction and had backtracked himself. Harry was sure Filch was heading to take one of the many shortcuts that he knew so well, and Harry paused to think for a moment…

"Hey, I've got an idea!" he said excitedly as he grabbed a hold of Ginny's hand and quickly ran down the stair case.

As they ran down the fourth floor corridor, they both knew that they didn't have to run from Filch, for they were sure that if they got caught, they wouldn't even receive detention for what they had done. But that wasn't the point.

It was exciting, the two of them holding hands and panting as they tore down the corridor, unsure of where to turn next. It was the simplest example of the kind of adventure that Harry lived for, and the kind that Ginny wanted so desperately…

Both of them giggled as they ran down the hallway, passing by dozens of classrooms to their right and windows to their left.

The fourth floor, like the rest of the castle, was completely bare and as they ran, the sound of their feet and their muffled laughter bounced off of the walls. They were half way down the hall when they reached the door leading to Professor Devout's Muggle Studies class. They stopped and listened for any sound of Filch.

With both hearts pounding, they listened… they were bent over; clutching their chests, and breathing deep… they looked at each other and smiled…

"Do you think we lost him?" asked Ginny as she swung her head to the side in an attempt to toss her hair out of her face. Harry watched as she did this and smiled. He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could Filch appeared at the end of the hallway.

"You two – stay where you are!" yelled Filch down the hall.

"Come on!" whispered Harry as he yet again grabbed a hold of Ginny's hand. They ran back the same way they had come, yet this time they stopped in front of a class room door, opened it quickly and ran inside.

They didn't bother to close the door behind them; they just ran to the back of the empty classroom, past desks and chairs, where another door stood partly open. They had only just made it threw the second door when they heard Filch entering the room.

"STOP!" yelled Filch in vain, but Harry and Ginny did not stop. They were now in another section of the fourth floor hallway and were running back towards the shifting staircases.

They reached the vast section of castle, but instead of heading up a flight of stairs, Harry ran around the corner, pulled Ginny in close, and slide behind a fifteen foot tall, velvet crimson curtain which was hanging next to a wall.

The space was tight, so tight that for them not to be spotted, Harry had his arms wrapped tightly around Ginny, her chest against his chest, their bodies pressed together.

Ginny pulled herself close to Harry, making sure that her body wasn't making the curtain behind her stick out in any odd fashion. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his shoulder, as she tried not to breathe so heavy and noisily.

Within seconds they heard Filch on the other side of the curtain, and both Harry and Ginny smiled to themselves in excitement.

"Bloody kids! Where did they go?" they heard Filch mutter.

They stood in silence, nether daring to speak nor breath, as they waited and listened to Filch's pacing footsteps as he tried to decide which path to take.

Harry closed his eyes and prayed for something to save them and sure enough it came –

CRASH!

"What the hell-" they heard Filch say just before the maddening cackle of Peeve's laughter floated from the floor below.

"PEEVES IF YOU"VE GONE AND BROKEN ONE MORE THING-" yelled Filch from the other side of the curtain just before he hobbled as quickly as he could down the nearest flight of stairs and onto the third floor.

Harry and Ginny remained frozen together and listened carefully, making sure that Filch had left. And after a minute or two they were sure, but neither of them let go. They stood behind the velvet curtain, both bodies still pressed tightly together, although there was no real reason for it.

They waited for their breaths to slow, but they were both so aroused that they were still breathing deep…

Harry's arms were wrapped around Ginny, his hands just inches above her butt and he had the strongest desire to move them just a little bit lower…

Ginny was getting redder and redder in the face as she could feel her own body dancing with urges and impulses as she felt Harry's toned chest against her own. And when she tried to move her body a touch to the left, she suddenly felt the bulge in Harry's pants against her right thigh.

Neither said a word, although they were both thinking the same thing.

Ginny finally got some courage and slowly pulled her upper body away from Harry, so she could look up at him and in his eyes… it was amazing. Even in the crimson shade of the curtain hiding place, Harry's green eyes still sparkled and shone so brightly behind his glasses…

Harry stared at Ginny before him… the color of her blue, soft eyes… the way her red hair gently framed her face… he knew he had to say something for he didn't want to let go…

"I guess we lost him." said Harry, as he mentally rolled his eyes at what he had just said.

"Yeah… I think we did." replied Ginny as she silently prayed that something good was going to come of this.

Both of them stood together – speechless as both their bodies heated up with desire and lust…

Harry, without speaking, slowly let go of Ginny's waist, and as he did Ginny felt her heart fall in disappointment. She dropped her head and was slowly releasing her grip on him when she suddenly felt Harry's left hand cup the bottom of her chin.

With his fingers gently under her chin, Harry slowly lifted Ginny's face, and without moving her head she looked up at him. He gently pulled her face close to his...

They both closed their eyes just seconds before their lips gently touched, sending tingles of excitement and a sense of thrill through their bodies.

When their lips met, gentle and soft, they held them there together, in perfect unified bliss…

And then slowly they pulled their lips apart.

Ginny was sure it was over and was about to open her eyes when she felt Harry's lips again, only harder and more passionate.

She grabbed a hold of him tightly as she stood up on the tips of her toes, and his hands quickly found their way back to her waist. A moment after, they both opened their lips a touch and gently rubbed the tips of their tongues together…

They did that for a while, enjoying it for all it was worth: the gentle teasings of a first kiss. And just when Ginny opened her lips wider, she lost her footing and – CRASH!

It a matter of moments Ginny had tripped over Harry's foot, fallen backwards while still holding onto him and had pulled the crimson curtain down with a loud clang that rang threw the castle.

Harry and Ginny lay tangled up in the curtain, their butts, legs and arms sore from the fall, and then they looked at each other and laughed.

"PEEVES I SWEAR I'LL GET YOU THIS TIME!" they heard Filch yell from somewhere in the castle.

Harry got up, as quickly as he could and stuck a hand out to Ginny. She embarrassedly laughed and grabbed his hand.

"Should we run for it?" asked Harry in a low seductive voice as he pulled Ginny in close to him and scanned her face with his eyes.

Ginny's eyes did the same, stopping at his lips which she was oh-so-tempted to kiss, but before she could do anything of the sort, Harry grinned and grabbed her hand.

They ran quickly, up the staircases to the sixth floor and then down one of the corridors that took them closer to the Gryffindor common room. The whole way there they said nothing, but Harry continued to look over his shoulder every now and then to give Ginny a wide grin; Ginny blushed back.

They were heading towards the Fat Lady portrait, hand in hand and thinking that nothing could go wrong when -

"Harry!" exclaimed Luna as she ran down the adjoining hallway. She had a huge smile on her face and when Harry saw her, his grip on Ginny's hand loosened completely.

Ginny's hand fell to her side as she watched Luna run up to Harry, throw her arms around him and kiss him passionately on the lips – and he didn't pull away.

Was she seeing things? Was this possible?

Here Harry was making out with Luna when only moments before he had been holding her hand…

Sure, it may have only been one kiss, but it irritated Ginny and she patiently waited for them to separate.

When they did, Luna quickly took notice of Ginny and let go of Harry. "Oh - hello Ginny. How was your Christmas?" asked Luna earnestly.

Ginny held back the first comment that came to mind and opted for the second, "Good. Interesting…"

Harry was watching on as the two girls spoke. He was at a loss for words and was taken aback by the sudden turn of events.

Ginny looked at Harry and knew that he was uncomfortable, and so she decided that she should let him be with Luna in private. After all, it's hard to break up with someone when your future girlfriend is present.

"I'm just going to go inside," said Ginny and added a small smile to be polite. She slowly turned to face the Fat Lady, said the password and walked inside.

But instead of going straight into the common room, Ginny's curiosity had her listening at the door.

She didn't know why she wanted to hear the break up, it did seem rather childish to her, but she pressed her ear against the portrait anyways and listened hard.

She could hear what sounded like kissing – but that couldn't be right.

She waited for the sloping sounds to stop, and when they did, she heard Luna say, "Oh Harry, I missed you so much! It was so horribly boring here without you, mind you I did find out something interesting!"

"Really, what's that?" asked Harry, no longer sounding so embarrassed.

"Did you know that Hogwarts is infested with Walrusus Cornfellows?" asked Luna in amazement. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Really? What are they?" asked Harry, sounding truly interested.

Ginny pulled her head away from the door, what was going on? Why hadn't he broken things off with her yet? Why was he acting as though nothing had happened?

Ginny shook her head, she was convinced that the break up was only moments away. But when she placed her ear to the door again, the things she heard next made her anger rise,

"So, do you want to see them?" asked Luna. "They come out after dark, so it would be best if you met me at nine o'clock in the astronomy tower." Ginny noticed a hint of seduction in her voice.

"Nine o'clock… sure." Said Harry as Ginny's heart did a somersault in her chest and her body quickly snapped away from the door.

_What the?_

But before she could think about it any more, she heard foot steps on the other side of the portrait. Ginny made a mad dash to her left and hid behind one of the couches in the empty common room just as Harry walked in.

She peered around the couch and watched him.

He stood in the middle of the common room, looking as though he was deep in thought. She watched as he slowly placed his hands on his hips and tilted his head towards the ceiling. He muttered a few curse words to himself and then he dropped his head and jogged angrily towards the spiral steps and up to his dormitory.

Ginny stayed crouched behind the sofa for some time. What had just happened?

Did they really kiss behind the curtain? Or was that all a dream?

She thought he had liked it. After all, he had initiated the kiss in the first place! And because of what she had felt on her leg, she knew that he had been turned on by it…

But why hadn't he broken things off with Luna?

_Maybe he doesn't like you enough to dump her… maybe you were just a fling…_

The second this theory crossed her mind, it stuck there - poking and prodding at her; coxing the evil up from within her…

"So that's the way he wants it, huh?" muttered Ginny to herself as she slowly stood up from behind the couch.

And with a mind spinning with anger and embarrassment, Ginny headed upstairs to her empty dormitory, with a plan in mind…


	8. A Mistake?

**Author's Note**: Hello everyone! I have another chapter here and I hope you like it! And just so you know, the next chapter probably won't be done till after the witner holidays because I'm really, really busy. Sorry, but I promise I'll try to update ASAP!

Happy Holidays!

Gabbrielle

* * *

-A Mistake?- 

"Oh Ron, please!" said Hermione as she stormed through the portrait hole and into the empty Gryffindor common room. Ron was quickly behind her and seemed really revved up about something,

"Hermione, are you trying to tell me that your parents would like me if I **wasn't** a wizard?"

Hermione stopped suddenly and spun around on the spot, "Yes! Yes they would! That's what I've been trying to tell you for the past fifteen minutes! You're just so nervous Ron! The things you're talking about are so petty and stupid! You're so concerned with proving yourself right that you don't realise how wrong you are!"

Harry was seated on one of the couches in the common room and had been lost in thought when Hermione and Ron had stormed in. He looked up at his friends who had not yet noticed he was there and watched them in silence.

"I still don't believe it." said Ron stubbornly and Hermione turned around angrily and headed straight for the stairs, while mumbling something that sounded a lot like "idiot" under her breath.

Ron scowled and turned to find a seat when he spotted Harry, "Finally! Someone I know who likes me for me."

Harry raised an eyebrow as Ron slowly walked towards him and sat down in a chair opposite. He looked up at Harry and saw the expression that still rested there and explained in a mocking tone,

"Hermione's parents only like me because I have magical powers. They were **so** glad to hear that I'm a wizard, because they hope I'll be able to protect her if any Death Eaters ever come a calling."

"And why do you say that?" asked Harry confused.

Ron sighed, "The whole time we were there, her parents kept telling me how happy they were that Hermione was going to marry a wizard. And then they kept saying, 'Make sure you take care of her.'"

Harry smirked, "You realize how stupid you sound, don't you?"

"**Thank-you**!" yelled Hermione who had been listening from the top landing of the staircase. Ron and Harry looked up towards the landing and saw a swoosh of curly brown hair just as Hermione angrily spun around and slammed the dormitory door behind her.

Ron looked away from the landing and made a face at Harry, but Harry continued on,

"No, I'm being serious here. You really sound stupid. Don't you think that they're happy that you're a wizard because they figure that you're someone Hermione can relate to?" asked Harry, as Ron's expression slowly changed.

"I mean think about it, if she ended up marrying a muggle, he might not be as understanding of her magical side as you would be. And you know that line, 'You make sure you take care of her' is used as a threat to the man in question - warning you that if you cheat on their daughter, expect to be hunted down and slaughtered."

Ron stared at Harry for a moment, and then,

"Oh shit!" spat Ron angrily, only now realizing his stupidity. He quickly jumped out of his seat and ran towards the spiral stairs.

Harry laughed to himself and shook his head, and then turned to stare at the roaring fire beside him. As he stared into the fire his thoughts from earlier quickly came back to mind…

What was he going to do? ….About Ginny? …About Luna? About the whole ordeal?

Harry shook his head. He was completely confused about the events of five hours earlier, and no matter how much time he spent thinking about it, it seemed that he couldn't come up with an answer.

"HERMIONE WON'T YOU LET ME COME UP?" Harry heard Ron yell in desperation up the girls' staircases. Of course he wouldn't be able to climb the stairs unless someone invited him up, and when Ron came back down into the common room two minutes later, it seemed that Hermione was still angry.

Ron walked back to the chair he was previously sitting in, and slumped down. Harry looked up at him and half-smiled.

"How am I ever going to live in the same house with her?" asked Ron while shaking his head slowly.

Harry laughed, "Women: can't live with them, can't live without them."

Ron snorted, "No kidding."

The two boys sat in their chairs and slowly became lost in their own thoughts, but Harry specifically needed help. He looked up at Ron and wondered whether or not he should ask him. After all, the female in question was Ron's own sister, but he didn't have to know that…

"Hey Ron," began Harry slowly, still unsure if he was doing the right thing. Ron snapped out of his trance and looked up at Harry, and Harry dropped his voice, "I need some… help. Female help."

Ron nodded as though he understood and he leaned forward in his chair, so that he could better hear Harry's whisperings. Harry paused and looked around the common room, no one else was present and so Harry leaned forward and continued,

"Okay, I need your advice. But you have to promise me that you won't mention anything to Hermione," added Harry quickly, as though predicting a disaster.

Ron nodded, "Don't worry mate, I won't tell her a thing."

Harry slowly nodded and leaned in closer. "Okay. I, um… don't know where to start…"

"Is it about Luna?" asked Ron, and Harry nodded.

"Yeah it is. The thing is, well… I like someone else."

Ron jerked his head back and rose an eyebrow, "So, ditch Luna if you don't like her."

Harry made a face, "But it's not that simple. You see the girl I like… well, she has a boyfriend too. A long term boyfriend, and I don't know if she wants to break up with him or not."

Ron shrugged, "Just ask her."

Harry smirked, "Easy for you to say! It took you how long before you and Hermione started dating?"

Ron rolled his eyes, "Yeah but you're "The Chosen One". I'm sure all you'd have to do is simply tell her that you're interested and she'd be all over you."

Harry rolled his eyes this time, "But she's not like that. And besides… she's already been all over me…" He mumbled the last bit.

Ron's eyes widened in interest and a mischievous grin broke across his face, "Oh **really** Chosen One? Been kissing girls behind closed doors when your girlfriend's not around, eh?"

Harry smirked, "It's not like that! It just sort of… happened. And then, when we were walking back - when we were walking down a hallway, we ran into Luna." Harry made a face as he remembered it.

"It was awkward. I mean, Luna had no idea what was going on, and so she ran up to me and kissed me. But the other girl… she didn't seem phased by it at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… I didn't expect her to get all territorial or anything, but she just sort of walked away. She said good-bye, and then walked away. I got the impression that she really didn't care if I was still with Luna or not."

Harry sat back in his chair. He had finally said the one thing he that had thinking about out loud, and he didn't like the sound of it. Ron was lost in thought,

"Maybe… she really doesn't care." said Ron slowly, and then he too sat back in his seat. "Maybe she just enjoyed the excitement of kissing another guy."

Harry looked up at Ron with amazement, and then guiltily realized that Ron was not aware that he was referring to his own sister.

"I don't know…" began Harry slowly as he considered the possibility, "it just doesn't seem like the kind of thing she would do."

Ron smirked, "Harry, let me tell you something." He leaned forward in his chair and glanced up at the landing before he spoke, "The one thing I learned from Hermione is that you **never** know what a girl is really like, until you date them."

Harry was now leaning forward in his chair with interest. "Really? Luna's not all that different."

"But how far have you gone with Luna?" asked Ron earnestly.

Harry pulled back a little, "Well not far… I mean, we've kissed and stuff. But nothing more than that."

Ron nodded, "Yeah well Hermione and I – " Harry made a face and so Ron left it at that,

"Well yeah, you know. But anyway, I never thought in a million years that she would be okay with getting into some trouble every now and then. And she's **way** more wild and frisky than in my greatest fantasies– " another look from Harry.

"Sorry. **Anyways**, all I'm saying is that you know this girl from a friend perspective, right?"

Harry thought for a second and then nodded. Ron continued, "And don't you think it's a little odd that after dating a guy for two years, she suddenly goes around kissing other men? I mean, what if you're not the first? Or the last? And the poor chap she's dating - he doesn't even know he's being played!"

Harry leaned back and thought for a moment, "Hey – but how am **I** any different? I went and kissed her first! That makes Luna the poor chap who doesn't know that she's being played."

Ron's eyes widened and then he leaned back in his chair in a professional manner, "Well, if you kissed her first, that's a **totally** different quidditch game!"

Harry rolled his eyes at Ron. He was becoming increasingly sorry that he had asked for help in the first place, and as his eyes wandered the room, he caught sight of Ginny walking off the last spiral step. He stared in her direction, and noticed that she had made quick eye contact with him, just before turning to Ron.

"Ron, Hermione wants to talk to you."

Ron turned in his seat and muttered, "Finally."

He then got out of his seat, and glanced in Harry's direction, Harry mouthed the words "Good Luck". And with that, Ron smirked and left the common room.

Harry's gaze then turned back to Ginny, who was standing next to the staircase, seeming unsure of what to do next. He looked her up and down quickly, and as he did, he felt his heart beat quicken.

She was wearing a fitted pair of blue jeans, with a tight green, ribbed tank top that clung to the shape of her perfect breasts. Her hair was in a French braid that she had probably done by magic, and it had emerald green ribbons intertwined in the folds.

She stood there for a moment, one hand on the stone doorway leading up to the spiral staircase, as thought she was planning a quick escape. She looked unsure of herself, as though she was on the verge of speaking but didn't know if she should say what she was thinking.

Ginny stared back at Harry, looking handsome as always as he sat aloof in his chair, wearing a red jumper and a pair of dark wash jeans.

"Enjoying the fire?" asked Ginny, forcing her voice to sound as neutral as possible.

As she made her way towards the chair that Ron had been sitting in only moments ago, she tried not to notice that Harry was watching her; it was a very hard thing to do.

She sat down on one of the arms of the chair, but instead of facing Harry, she positioned her body towards the fireplace, her profile to him.

As she stared off into the fire, she was unsure of what to say next. She had planned this of course, to come into the common room looking as cute as ever, but what she hadn't planned on were the unexpected feelings which had suddenly come at the sight of Harry.

It had seemed so simple to her when she had been alone in her dormitory; she had rehearsed the perfect scene. But now that she had seen him – all her evil thoughts and words had turned into jelly.

Harry too was at a loss for words. He sat quietly and watched her watching the fire, and as he stared, he felt a flood of emotions come over him.

He didn't know what she was thinking, or what she thought of him, but he didn't care. All he knew was that he had the sudden urge to speak, and so he did.

"Ginny… I want to apologize for earlier…" he began slowly and sounding unsure.

But unfortunately Harry took too long to finish his sentence.

At the sound of these words Ginny's heart broke in two. She slowly closed her eyes, her head still facing the fire - she couldn't believe what she was hearing…

Her theory had been proven correct; he regretted kissing her.

There it was… straight from the horse's mouth. No if, ands or butts about it. It was a full out confession…

Ginny tried to take a deep breath without Harry noticing, and then said firmly, "No it's quite alright. It was a mistake that never should have happened."

Now it was Harry's turn to have his heart fall into his stomach.

Was he hearing right?

Just seconds ago he had been in the process of apologizing to Ginny, apologizing for not breaking up with Luna on the spot and confessing his love for her when now… now she was confirming his worst fear - that she didn't like him after all?

Harry was taken aback and he sat back in his chair with nothing to say…

Ginny slowly turned to Harry, still in disbelief about what was happening herself…

"Well I guess we agree then," she said slowly and unsure, for Harry hadn't spoken, "What happened was a mistake?"

Her insides were screaming. She was so desperately hoping that he would suddenly burst out in cries of disagreement. That he would reach forward and grab her into his arms and tell her that it was not true, that the kisses they shared were not a mistake, but instead – he slowly nodded his head.

Harry was at a loss for words and he could feel his stomach tightening and his muscles clinching in rage. _A mistake? Is that what I am to her? A mistake?_

Ginny held back a flood of tears and tried to maintain her calm as she silently got off of the chair and quickly walked towards the stairs. Once she hit them she ran up as fast as she could, and dashed into the empty dormitory.

She threw herself onto her bed and cried her pain into her pillow.

Harry sat in his chair speechless. The anger in him was quickly rising as he replayed what had just happened to him over and over again in his head…

And then without thinking twice about what he was doing, he suddenly got out of his seat and walked angrily up to the wooden cupboard against the wall.

With a quickly beating heart he clinched his fist and punched the thick wooden door.

There was a loud cracking noise as the wood splintered, allowing his fist to go through it.

With his fist in the cupboard, Harry paused and noticed just how fast and deeply he was breathing.

He slowly pulled his hand out of the broken cupboard...

And when he felt the sting of pain in his hand and saw the blood that dribbled slowly down his wrist, the anger with in him subsided, and was swiftly replaced with unspeakable sadness…


	9. In The Office of Malfoy

**Author's Note:** Hello People! Yes that's right, I'm here with another chapter! And if this one seems a little weird and out of place, please stay with me. I trying to add some... well I'm not sure what to call it, but it will all hopefully workout in the end.

Enjoy! Gabby

* * *

-In The Office of Malfoy- 

_Scratch – scratch._

The sounds of Lucius Malfoy's quill racing against a piece of paper filled his grand office.

_Scratch – scratch._

He owned his own business, and therefore had much paper work to do and business deals to merge. There was little time to be wasted.

_Scratch… scratch…_

His jotting of notes slowly came to a pause as he lifted his eyes from the page, a feat which he had not tempted in an hour. He blinked his eyes rapidly as the shade of his dark office contrasted with the white sheet of paper he had been staring at only moments before.

When he could finally focus, his eyes darted around his newly furnished office. The tall cherry wood doors at the entrance… the big black leather sofas… the tall lamps in the corners… it was an office for a man of status, filled with shades of black, maroon and silver.

He felt powerful when in his office; he felt as grand and as rich as all of the furniture inside it, and sometimes he didn't want to leave his office. What was the point anyways? He was always working - even when he was home - so it would just make sense to stay in his office forever…

"Excuse me Mr. Malfoy, but your wife is on line one." came the voice of Lucius' secretary Aja Klaus.

Lucius immediately snapped out of his trance and stared down evilly at the speaker box on his desk. And as though she could feel the stare coming through the box, Aja's voice quickly dropped and she sounded unsure of her self.

"I'm sorry sir, but this _is_ the ninth time that she's called this morning…"

Lucius' silent glare at the box continued and then he finally spoke, "Tell her that I'm busy and I'll call her in an hour."

Aja didn't bother to reply andhis office became silent once more. But instead of returning to admire his new office, Lucius angrily went back to his work and continued to scratch away at the paper in front of him.

An hour went by andhe was still writing away at his paper, but this time he wasn't surprised by the sound of Aja's voice in the speaker box.

"Mr. Malfoy, there's someone here to see you,"

Lucius continued his writing, and growled a few moments later, "Who is it?"

"Mrs. Parkinson, sir. Would you like me to send her in, or would you rather her wait?"

At the sound of this,his body perked up and he immediately dropped his quill as stared at the speaker phone for a moment. "Yes, send her in." he said rather calmly.

A few moments later the tall cherry wood doors tohis office opened, and a well-dressed Emile Parkinson walked into the room.

She was wearing a rather expensive looking fur coat and her black hair was done up in a rather fancy bun; diamond burettes and all. Her face was powdered to perfection and with jeweled heels on her feet, she looked as though she was heading out to a fancy evening ballet, rather then the office of Lucius Malfoy at ten in the morning.

Lucius though did not seem surprised by her appearance. He seemed rather intrigued as he watched Emile seductively walk across the office and towards his desk, the tall doors closing on their own behind her.

Emile smirked when she reached his desk, but instead of sitting down on the chair beside her, she lifted the right side of her fur coat and propped a leg up on the desk.

Lucius watched silently as Emile sat partially on his desk, strategically drawing attention to the black stockings underneath… stockings that seemed to reach high-heaven…

He slowly tore his eyes away from Emile's leg and stared into her face; she smirked again and whispered, "Happy New Year, Lucius."

Lucius, who was now leaning back in his chair sneered, "Is it January first already? I hadn't noticed."

Emile smiled down at the man behind the desk, "Yes Lucius, it is January first and you still haven't given me my Christmas present."

And with that last word, Emile slowly got off of the table and walked away fromhim and to the center of the room. As she walked, she gradually began to unbutton her coat, taking her time and making sure to walk nice and slowly.

She looked around the newly renovated office as she walked, and when the last button on her coat was undone, she slowly turned to face Lucius and she pulled back the coat to revel her under garments.

"When did you make all the changes?" Emile asked in a casual tone as she stood in the center of the room, exposing the black lingerie that she was wearing.

Lucius' stare pierced at her skin as his eyes wandered over the lacy black corset… the long clips holding up the smooth black stockings… and the black thong that she wore.

Emile staredback and smiled, and then she slowly began to walk towards him. Lucius tried to act as calm as could be as he answered her question, his eyes still glued to her ever approaching figure,

"Just last week I had some people come in here… filthy muggles they were…"

By this time Emile was behind Lucius' desk and as she stared down at the man in front of her, she slowly let the heavy fur coat slide down her shoulders … Lucius watched in silence… and then when the coat reached her hands she gently tossed it over to the right, where it hit the wall and slumped down to a heap on the floor.

Lucius looked over at the fur coat, and then back to Emile's body… the color of her pale skin against the crude black was like a dream to him, and she knew it. He reached forward and grabbed her hips, his finger tips reaching for her buttocks as he gently pulled her forward.

She smirked and leaned forward and her fingers quickly found his belt. She undid it slowly and then went for the button… then the zipper… and then for the hem of his underpants.

When he was exposed to her, Emile stepped in closer to the chair and straddled herself on top of Lucius… she then released a sultry moan when he entered her.

He was deep inside of her, the way he had been so many times before… and as she had done so many times before, Emile began to pray inside of her…

_Please don't let this stop… don't ever let it stop…_

She rocked her hips back and forth, as Lucius' grip on her buttocks seemed to guide her… she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips, deep and passionate… she exposed her breast to him and let him suckle at it, as her fingers grabbed at his head of beautifully blond hair, a little too tightly…

She rode on top of him for twenty minutes, enjoying the fact that his hands were all over her, rubbing the material on her skin. And when his grip on her tightened, she knew that she had to say it now….

"I love you, Lucius." she moaned into his ear. And with out a response, Lucius' pumping motion from underneath her increased, and then slowly stopped as he came in side of her.

Emile didn't get off of him right away. Instead she sat on his lap, him still inside of her, as she slowly fingered his hair and stared into his hazel eyes. And in the immediate moments afterwards, Lucius didn't seem to mind, for he stared into her face, and almost seemed to smile in comfort.

Emile saw this small note of affection and felt her heart flutter, but instead of simply leaving with that, she needed more…

"Lucius, why Narcissa?" she whispered as she had done many times before. And just as before, Lucius' mood quickly changed and without answer, he picked Emile off of his lap and lowered her to the ground beside him.

Emile's eyes narrowed as she stared at her lover and watched him pulling up his pants. She quickly stood up and pushed him down and back into the chair, but instead of screaming or acting out like he would with his wife, Lucius just sat and stared.

"Well?" asked Emile again, her voice rising in anger.

"Well what, Emile? We've had this discussion before," said Lucius, no longer sounding like his all powerful self. Instead he sounded exhausted and bored with where the conversation was heading, but Emile didn't care.

"No Lucius, you've had the discussion before. You've talked and talked your way in circles and I've still never really gotten an answer! Why Narcissa?"she persisted.

Lucius now had lost his patience and he got up and out of his chair and headed for the door, but Emile ran after him and through herself in front of the cherry doors, her arms spread long across in an attempt to block his exit.

She looked him in the eye and then quickly closed her eyes and cringed her body up to ready herself for the slap, but instead she heard his voice, not angry but calm,

"Move, Emile."

Emile opened one eye and looked at Lucius, "Not until you answer my question." She watched as his face contorted with anger once again and she quickly closed her eye and waited for the smack…

"I've told you before; I don't want to discuss it." said Lucius said slowly. Emile kept her eyes shut, even though she could feel her body slowly relax,

"Why not?"

Lucius didn't want to give the answer, for he knew as soon as he did that he would regret it. So instead of the truth he took the defensive,

"For Merlin's sake Emile, there's no point to it!"

"**I** need to know Lucius." insisted Emile, but she could see that he was beginning to pull away from her.

"Did you love me then?" she began, in the softest most uncertain voice, "Did you love me then, in Hogwarts? When we were young and full of happiness?" she asked as she stared into his eyes.

She saw that he was beginning to look away, and so she hurriedly finished,

"Did you love me when we first made love underneath that apple tree?"

Lucius did not respond but slowly turned from her and walked towards his desk. Emile ran after him and continued her questions.

"Did you love me when you saved me from the giant squid, that time I fell into the lake? Did you love me at graduation, when you told me that you'd never leave me and that we'd be together always? Did you love me then? Or was it all a joke?" she practically screamed the last part for her heart was now exposed with all of the pain that had rested there for so many years.

She stopped in front of Lucius' desk, and him who was now seated in his chair stared up at her. Emile waited for an answer, and Lucius closed his eyes and said,

"Put on your coat Emile, I have an important meeting in ten minutes."

Emile stared down at Lucius, in shock at his insensitivity. She quickly took her ground, placed her hands on her hips and stared down at the man in front of her.

"Unless you would like to explain to your wife why you've been having an affair with me for the past twenty years Lucius, I'd advise you to answer my question. Why Narcissa?" asked Emile sternly.

Lucius opened his eyes and stared at Emile. They stared angrily in silence, and after a few moments he complied, knowing that she would not leave unless she got the answers she wanted.

"Why do you think?"

Emile was taken aback by the question.

"Why do I think?" she said out loud and in shock, and then repeated again,

"Why do _I_ think, Lucius?" and then she started to laugh a crazy, desperate laugh,

"What the hell does it matter what I think? Do you know how many years I've tried to figure it out? Do you? Do you know how many tears I've cried or how many years have been wasted on you? DO YOU? No you don't Lucius, so don't you DARE try to turn things around and play mind games with me! I want answers, and I want the truth! So tell me please, why NARCISSA?"

"BECAUSE SHE HAD MONEY, EMILE!" yelled back Lucius as he jumped out of his seat and pounded his fists on the desk. "For Merlin's sake, why else would I marry my relative if it wasn't for money and power?"

Emile hadn't been expecting this as an answer, and she stood watching Lucius speechless. But she didn't have to say another word, for Lucius himself looked like there were a few issues that he had to get off of his chest.

"I never told you because I knew that you'd never understand! My father Emile was a horrible man, but **he** was powerful! He had some of the greatest wizards ever working for him, and people respected him and feared him – do you know what kind of pressure that put on me?"

Emile slowly shook her head, for that was all she could possibly do. For now in front of her was no longer the strong and powerful Lucius Malfoy that the wizarding world had come to fear and hate, but instead the young boy that she fell in love with at Hogwarts so many years ago.

His demeanor had changed in a matter of seconds and he looked once again as her teenage boyfriend, the one who used to hold her in the Slytherin common room, and dream about growing old with her.

Lucius shook his head slowly behind the desk, and then he continued on,

"My mother didn't care about anything, Emile. She was wasteful and useless. Can you believe that she spent all of my father's fortune in a matter of months? Can you? My father was wealthy… he had status in the community and pride… and then my mother being the no good floozy that she was, went and spent all of his money behind his back!"

Lucius punched down on the desk one more time and then he left the table and walked slowly towards the window. The closer he got to it, the more he seemed to fall back in time…

"She spent everything, Emile. Every Knut that she could get her hands on went to buy some _stupid_ item. And she didn't stop with my father's money. No, she went after **my** savings too! By the time I had graduated Hogwarts there was nothing left! We would have had to sell our house if it wasn't for Narcissa and the Black family money. It was the only chance I had to reclaim my family name from the shambles my mother had put it through." Lucius' voice now sounded distant as he was lost in memories.

Emile couldn't speak for a moment. Her mind was racing with thoughts. _He chose to marry that pathetic excuse of a woman for money? Business, that's what this all is to him, isn't it? His marriage, our love affair, it's all simply business._

Emile snapped out of her stunned demeanor and walked silently towards her coat. Lucius was still staring out the window, as though he was unaware that she was still in the room.

"Sorry to interrupt your meeting sir, but there is someone here to see you," came the voice of Aja Klaus once again from the desk-top speaker box.

Lucius looked over his shoulder and replied, "Tell him I'll be right out."

Lucius' gaze then caught with Emile's, who was fixing herself and making sure that her coat and hair were perfectly placed.

"It would be better if you left through the fire. I really don't want to have to explain your presence." Lucius drawled, becoming his usual self again, and then hr turned back to face the window.

Emile smirked in disgust to herself and she strolled up to Lucius, leaned forward and whispered into his ear.

"And you Lucius had better find a way to bring Draco home for I'm expecting him and Pansy to wed. Unless of course, you would like me to tell your wife of our little escapades. I'm sure that if she leaves you she won't take all of your precious money… you'll be left with at least two knuts, I imagine."

And with that last statement Emile walked confidently across the office and stepped into the fireplace, and disappeared.

Lucius turned around and glared at the fireplace the moment Emile had vanished. And then he walked towards the office door and held it open for Henry Parkinson, who stormed trough the door looking completely outraged.

"Lucius we had a deal!" said Henry as he stormed past Lucius and headed straight to one of the chairs.

"Good Morning to you too, Henry. Having a bad day?" sneered Lucius as he let the doors close on there own and then he too walked towards his desk.

Henry, who had thrown his hat down on Lucius' desk in anger and rage, glared at Lucius.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about Lucius. We made a deal sixteen years ago. I helped you stay out of Azkaban, and you'd arrange it so that Draco marries Pansy!"

Lucius sat down in his chair and crossed his hands in his lap, "Where's the problem then, Henry?"

"The problem?" stuttered Henry for a moment, and then he found his ground, "The problem is that your son is still in Azkaban! And by what I've been reading in the Daily Prophet Lucius, it doesn't seem that you'll be able to hold up your end of the bargain."

Lucius drawled in an undermining tone, "Really Henry, do you think that the Daily Prophet knows everything that's going on in the community?"

Henry leaned forward on the desk, "I don't care what you _or_ the Daily Prophet has to say about anything Lucius. All I know is that if **you** can't hold up your end of the deal, then I want my money back. With interest."

Lucius glared at Henry, for that was a large sum of money to be asking for.

"And," continued Henry, "I'm sure that Narcissa would be very interested in learning about your spending habits Lucius. She would love to know where all of **her** money has been going, I'm sure. In fact, isn't your entire business under her name…" asked Henry, knowing full well the answer, but loving the look on Lucius' face all the same.


	10. The End of Christmas Break

**Author's Note** - Bloody Hell! A month later and I finally get a chapter done! I'm so sorry. All I can say is that university and it's work load has finally taken it's toll, and I'm finding that I'm way way behind. But never the less, I finished another chapter, so here you go.

Gabrielle.

* * *

-The End of Christmas Break-

_Look at her! Laughing and smiling at him… running her fingers threw his hair…_

"Absolutely disgusting," muttered Harry as he sat, loathing in his chair.

Hermione heard the comment and paused her reading. She slowly lowered her book onto her lap and silently watched Harry's growing expression of disgust.

"Something bothering you?" asked Hermione gently.

Harry's head swung over to face Hermione, but his body stayed positioned over the arm of the chair.

"Yes. Some people have no respect for others. Like anyone needs to see **those** two sucking face all day long. It's embarrassing to be in the same room with them!" growled Harry seconds before he turned back to face the couple.

Hermione stared at Harry in disbelief.

"Oh yes, I know exactly what you mean. I too find it so hard to be in the same common room with Ginny and Dean, while they sit and kiss twenty feet away from me. Very uncomfortable," said Hermione as she raised her book to her face and covered the smirk that lingered there.

Harry shot Hermione a look of annoyance and then sat properly in his seat. He crossed his arms over his chest as he begin to huff and pout in anger.

The loud huffing continued on, and after five minutes of it, Hermione peered over the top of her book, and then threw it down in irritation.

"Alright, I've had enough!" she began impatiently, "What on earth is going on with you two?" she questioned as she gave Harry one of her more stern looks.

Harry looked up and snarled, "What do you mean?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Harry you know exactly what I mean. At the Burrow everything was fine between you two. And now… now it's 'Hermione can you please ask Ginny if she can pass the salt?'" mocked Hermione as Harry rolled his eyes.

"Well?" asked Hermione when Harry didn't respond.

"Well… why don't you go and harass Ginny about it? That is if you can ever get Dean to remove his tongue from her throat." Drawled Harry as he turned his head to the left and his gaze immediately fell upon the couple who where still locked in embrace.

"I did ask her." replied Hermione with more sympathy, "But she just sort of waved me off and told me that it was over something childish."

At the sound of that last word, Harry's head swung around so fast that his neck popped. He winced in pain and rubbed at the sore spot, "Did she really say that?" he asked in a more calm and nervous voice.

"Say what?" asked Hermione, startled by the sudden reaction.

"Did she say that it was something… _childish_?"

Hermione thought for a moment, "Yeah… but there was a lot of mumbling on her part, so I'm not really sure what she was talking abo—Harry!" called Hermione for Harry was now walking quickly and angrily towards the portrait hole.

Hermione raised up in her seat as she watched Harry make his way threw the swarm of excited students whom had arrived only hours earlier from Christmas vacation.

She watched as Harry nearly knocked down a large group of third years, and when he walked out of sight, Ron came into view instead.

Hermione watched Ron as he looked over his shoulder with furrowed eyebrows and seemed to be calling after Harry. But a few moments later, Ron walked towards her, alone.

"Hey there, beautiful!" smiled Ron as he took the seat which had been Harry's only moments ago. Hermione half-smiled in response.

"Everything alright?" questioned Ron.

"I was just talking to Harry before he stormed out on me."

"What were you talking about?" asked Ron.

Hermione made a face, "Well, haven't you noticed how weird he's been acting lately?"

"How do you mean?"

Hermione rolled his eyes, "Come on Ron. Last night at dinner was a perfect example. The way he was obviously ignoring Ginny… and how he spent all last night at dinner overly flirting and giggling with Luna, he just didn't seem himself.

"I wish I knew what was going on with those two…" she said, just before her eyes fell on Ginny and Dean in the corner.

Ron shrugged. "So, they had a row."

"Yeah but that's just it…" said Hermione distantly, "what did they fight about?"

Ron threw Hermione a look, "Well what ever it is, it isn't your business, and you shouldn't be worrying about it."

Hermione's jaw dropped as she turned and faced her fiancé. "I know it's none of _my_ business, but that still doesn't mean I have to like seeing my friends fight!" defended Hermione.

Ron raised his hands in a motion of self defense, "I know, I know. I don't like to see them fight either. But there are just some things that you shouldn't get involved in."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head away from Ron, but Ron continued on, unfazed,

"Take last night for example… I didn't ask Harry why he was crying,"

Hermione slowly turned to face Ron, "Harry was crying last night?"

Ron nodded.

"Why?"

Ron shrugged, "Hermione, men don't ask other men why they're crying."

"But you're his best friend!" Hermione nearly shouted for she didn't see the problem.

Ron half smiled. "True. But when a man hides his tears, it doesn't matter if he's your best mate or not - you just don't ask."

Hermione let go of a deep breath and fell back into her seat. She knew there was no point arguing and so she slowly picked up her book to start her reading, but before she could even open it up, there came a loud scream from one end of the common room.

Hermione and Ron looked up to see Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown running towards Hermione, both looking absolutely devilish.

"Lavender, would you look at that diamond on her hand!" screamed Parvati in a high pitched voice which rang around the room. Hermione and Ron's eyes met for a second, and the Ron was quickly blocked out of sight by the bodies of the two giggling girls.

"My goodness Ron, you sure have good taste!" said Parvati over her shoulder while she rotated Hermione's left hand in her own.

Lavender leaned forward to get a closer look at the engagement ring as the light from the candles above shone into the diamond, making it sparkle like the moon's reflection on a deep, black lake.

Hermione sat back in her chair speechless, as the two girls stared at her hand and the ring; Ron simply laughed.

"So?" asked Parvati wide-eyed, as though waiting for an obvious reply.

"So, what?" asked Hermione, truly scared at this point.

"So… how did he ask you?" Parvati persisted.

Hermione opened her mouth, but no words came out as she tired to think quickly about what she wanted to be known.

Parvati couldn't wait any longer and so she turned and faced Ron, "So, how did you ask her?"

Ron's eyes widened. "And this is the point in which I leave. Have fun ladies." Ron smiled as he got out of his seat and began to walk away.

Hermione leaned over to the side of her chair and stared at him with an open mouth, shocked that he was leaving her all alone to these hungry jackals. But before she could beg for mercy, Parvati turned to her.

"So when's the wedding? Do your parents know? What did they say? I'm sure they were shocked - I mean I know that my parents would be shocked. Would your parents be shocked?" Parvati turned to ask Lavender.

"Of course my parents would be shocked. I'm not even dating anyone!"

Parvati and Lavender laughed at this, but Hermione was still too taken a back to speak.

"Oh Hermione, I'm so happy for you! You and Ron make such a good couple!" awed Lavender.

Hermione smiled genuinely, finally coming too, "Thanks. I'm really happy about it… but to tell you the truth," said Hermione suddenly sounding distant, "I've had so many other things on my mind that sometimes… sometimes I kind of forget." stated Hermione sadly as she raised her hand from Parvati's grip and stared at the ring from a distance.

This was the truth. The very sad but real truth. With the attack on her parents, their short stay at Hogwarts and the train ride to Sussex to stay with Aunt Heather, Hermione's thoughts about marriage and a wedding where the last thing on her mind.

"Forget?" squealed Parvati, pulling Hermione out of her own thoughts, "How on earth could you ever forget? If I was you I'd be spending every waking hour planning the perfect wedding ceremony. The flowers and the dress, and bridal party – oh Hermione do you know who your brides maids are?" asked Parvati with hope in her eyes.

Hermione gulped at this. No, she had never thought about who her bride's maids should be. Heck her and Ron hadn't even set a date yet, never mind get all of the little details in order.

"I – um – uh – " began Hermione as she tired to think of a nice way to let the two sappy-eyed girls in front of her down.

"Well, you see I – "

"What she means to say is that she really hasn't thought about it, and _when_ and **if** she needs you, she'll get in touch." came a voice from behind Hermione that she recognized right away.

Hermione turned and saw Ginny standing there with a very stern look on her face; Parvati and Lavender looked like they had just had their bubble broken.

"Oh well, that's fine. We'll talk to you later, Hermione. I've got to go and met up with Padma to tell her the great news." giggled Parvati as she grabbed Lavender's arm and quickly walked away in the other direction.

Hermione turned back to Ginny and smiled, "Thank you."

Ginny smirked, "Like vultures, aren't they? Wanting to know every _little_ detail; you can bet by the time classes start tomorrow, everyone will know that you're engaged."

Hermione watched as Ginny walked forward and sat down in the chair that had been Ron's only moments ago. Hermione smiled.

"How is everything?"

"Fine. Dean was happy to see me, but can you believe that I left that stupid necklace of his at home? Had to make one hell of an excuse to stop him from getting all sappy with me." Answered Ginny as she made a face. "You know, I'm getting really tired of him."

Hermione tested the waters, "Well, I had thought that you were re-developing feelings for someone else."

Ginny's eyes narrowed, "Yes well, that certain 'someone else' turned out to be a low-life git."

"Ginny won't you just tell me what happened?" pleaded Hermione.

Ginny signed in defeat. "Fine, but only because I know you'll never leave me alone on the subject."

Ginny took a deep breath and without thinking much about a rational story line, she simply began. "We kissed, the day we arrived at Hogwarts. You and Ron had rushed over to the hospital wing to be with your parents, while Harry and I slowly made our way to the common room.

"On our way we were flirting a little, and then Flich started to chase after us, but we ran and ran, and the next thing I know, Harry pulls me began a curtain on the fourth floor."

Hermione's jaw dropped and a small smirked appeared, as if to say "Whoa-ho-ho!", Ginny blushed and continued.

"Yes, it was great. There we were, so close to one another, holding one another, listening for any sound of Flich. And then after a few moments… he kissed me. It was short but sweet, and I thought it was over but then he kissed me again. And from there…" Ginny blushed even harder, "Well, we got so into it, that I tripped on his foot and brought the curtain to the ground."

"Awww!" Hermione moaned in sympathy and Ginny slowly nodded with a small smile.

"Yup, a classic move by Ginny Weasley. Well anyways, we were sure that we had caught Flich's attention and so we ran back up the stairs and headed here."

Ginny paused as she remembered it, "He was holding my hand Hermione. We were running, he was ahead of me… and he kept looking over his shoulder and winking at me… it was the greatest time of my life… and then, **she **came around the corner."

By this time Ginny's eyes were narrowed and all the bashfulness in her face had fled. Hermione's body perked up at the sudden change in emotion.

"The second he saw her, he let go of my hand, and then she ran up to him and kissed him and he… he didn't pull back. Well of course I thought this was strange but I was sure that he was about to break things off with her and so I left the hallway. But then I stayed listening outside of the door, and Hermione, he didn't break things off with her! If anything, he seemed to act as though nothing and happened between us at all. How could he do that?"

Hermione stared at her friend with the out-most compassion and simply shook her head in response.

Ginny looked up to the ceiling and tried to stop the tears that were forming in her eyes from falling down her cheeks. "And that's not the worst part. Later that night, after I told Ron to met you up stairs, I talked to Harry." Ginny spat out his name bitterly as though it tasted badly in her mouth.

"He said it was all just one big mistake. Never should have happened. Can you believe it? I was horrified. How could all of those sweet kisses mean nothing? And then now, to have to spend every night at dinner, watching him flirt so openly with Luna at the table is just the most disgusting thing."

Ginny's face at this point had taken on and completely hateful look, and Hermione waited in silence for her next words.

"And now that Dean is back…"


	11. A New Hogwarts

**Author's Note:** Can you believe it? I actually completed a chapter! And got it posted! OMG! Okay, so I'm really sorry that it's taken so long for me to get this done - but here it is.

Gabby.

* * *

-A New Hogwarts- 

(January 4th – First dinner back from Winter Holidays. Same day as previous chap.)

"Can you see him?" asked Hermione as she scanned the Great Hall for Harry.

"No," said Ron as he shoved a forkful of chocolate tart into his mouth. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Well I don't understand where he could be. I mean he's been gone for hours now. Isn't he hungry?"

"Hermione leave it alone," begged Ron. "When he wants to eat, he'll eat. After all, he knows how to sneak into the kitchens - you know he's not going to starve to death, so stop worrying."

Hermione bit her lip and stopped scanning the room. "I'm just worried that's all."

"Here." Said Ron as he stuck his fork into a cube of Jello and wiggled it in front of her face. "Oh come on Hermione… it's your favorite… blue raspberry."

Hermione smirked at Ron's silly attempt to cheer her up, although she gently pushed the Jello away from her face. Ron simply shrugged his shoulders and swallowed the cube without much thought.

Hermione looked down at the desserts in front of her and sighed. Her eyes immediately fell on a delicious looking slice of cheesecake, but just as she was leaning over to grab it, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention.

It was Dumbledore, who had just walked into the Great Hall from a door behind the teachers table. He had been absent during the entire feast, and Hermione now knew why; he was accompanied by two men.

One of them was the Minster for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, dressed in his usual emerald suit but looking unusually disheveled and preoccupied with his own thoughts. The second man was tall and slender, a man who resembled an old lion with his bushy tawny hair and eyebrows.

The sight of the two men with Dumbledore captivated Hermione's thoughts, and she was only able to stare at the three men, watching them motion to one another and talk in whispers. It was an odd sight seeing Fudge, who was usually so confident and cocky, slouching – his appearance most uncomfortable. The second man on the other hand had a certain disposition about him. He looked stern and strict, not one to play games or fool around.

Hermione soon noticed that she wasn't the only one who was staring, all of the other staff members seemed to be equally interested in the three men who had suddenly made an appearance, and now seemed quite unsure of what to do next.

But no sooner had Hermione thought it then Dumbledore slowly stepped up to the speakers podium and raise his hands in the air.

"Can I please get everyone's attention?" asked Dumbledore as he waited for the room of students to quiet down. Silence came quickly and Dumbledore continued on, without a smile, "Thank you. I have some very important news to share with all of you."

At those words Hermione and Ron quickly shared a glance of concern with one another and then looked back at Dumbledore.

"Over the past couple of days there have been some important developments. It is no secret that Lord Voldemort has returned. His appearance at the Ministry of Magic barely two years ago confirmed the suspicion. However there had been very little trace of his activity since… until now."

At this the entire student body gasped in horror and began to murmur amongst themselves until Dumbledore raised a hand and gained silence in the room once again.

"I know that many of you are fearful of what this means. I understand. Your knowledge of Lord Voldemort comes only from the secretive whispers of your parents, from the general fear of speaking his name… from the pictures of loved ones lost."

Dumbledore paused at this moment and allowed the statement to settle within the students.

"But this time around, is different. This time we generally know what we can expect for Voldemort and his followers. This time we stand a better chance. This time, we are taking no chances."

Another pause from Dumbledore, but this one was more for his sake then for the students. He looked as though he was choosing his next words carefully; the students all waited nervously… and then he spoke.

"In these times the Ministry for Magic has chosen to appoint a new Minister. Cornelius Fudge has gracefully stepped aside and Rufus Scrimgeour has taken up the position." With those last words Dumbledore stepped away from the podium and allowed the new Minister to step forward.

The entire hall was silent. Some of the teachers seemed just as stunned as the students. Hermione looked across the table at Ron, and hoped to get in a quick glace of nervousness, but Ron's jaw was dropped and all he seemed capable of was a dull stare towards the teachers table.

Hermione turned back to the podium, and saw Rufus Scrimgeour take his last step, a step he seemed to struggle with because of a small limp in his leg. But as soon as he made the step, his body rose behind the podium, and the students suddenly felt they were in for grave news indeed.

"Good evening, everyone. Teachers – students – ghosts," said Scrimgeour, nodding to each one as he went. "Well, as Dumbledore has said, I am in fact the newly appointed Minister for Magic."

He then paused, as though waiting for either a cheer or a moan, but neither came and so he continued on.

"As the new Minister for Magic, it is my duty to ensure the safety of all wizards and witches – and there children – which is why Dumbledore and myself have agreed on certain changes that will take place tonight and until further notice."

At this point Cornelius Fudge stepped forward and handed a roll of parchment to the Minister. Scrimgeour took the paper, unrolled it and read out loud:

"It is in agreement with Albus Dumbledore, current Headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the current Minister for Magic, I - Rufus Scrimgeour - that the following rules are to be set in place for the students and staff of Hogwarts to abide by and follow.

"Any student who is found not abiding by the rules will be expelled from Hogwarts – permanently. Any staff member will be fired."

The last words sent the students into a buzzing frenzy, until Dumbledore raised his hand into the air, and silence came once again. The Minister took a breath and started:

"Number One: All trips to Hogsmeade are here by cancelled. All ventures into the Forbidden Forest are here by discouraged. No student will be allowed to leave the Hogwarts grounds without the accompaniment of a teacher or auror."

Hermione's head tilted at the mention of aurors, and so did many others, but the Minister continued on unfazed.

"Number Two: The clock in the tall east tower has now been put to good use. It will act as a security warning system. When it chimes, all students who are on the grounds will be expected to enter the building as quickly as possible. If you are in the hallways of the school, please enter the nearest occupied classroom and stay with the teachers or aurors that are present.

Number Three: All Prefects as well as Head Boys and Girls will be expected to take extra classes with Professor Seresin. These classes are to begin immediately and will be held after the regular school day. These classes are extremely important and any student who chooses not to show up or commit to the course will be demoted."

Hermione's gazed flickered quickly over to the DADA teacher Professor Seresin, and she was a bit surprised to see that he looked just as shocked by the news as everyone else.

"Number Four: All post leaving and coming into Hogwarts will first be examined by the Ministry of Magic and must be approved for delivery. Owls may take longer to arrive then usual, but we at the Ministry ask that you and your families bare with us as it is a simple yet important step in insuring the safety of the students.

"And lastly, Number Five: Any suspicious behavior among students or teachers is expected to be reported immediately to the next person in power. This includes secret meetings, bizarre tendencies or strange and unusual behavior of a person."

There was a pause following this short statement, where the new Minister first looked the students down and then began to slowly roll up the piece of parchment from which he had been reading.

"With all that said I expect everyone to be alert and on their best behavior from here on in, as we will not tolerate any horse play or prank jokes. In these times it is crucial for everyone to cooperate with one another and work together to insure the safety of all."

Scrimgeour finished the sentence with one last stare and then slowly descended the steps of the podium and Dumbledore quickly took his place.

Hermione noticed how tired and worried Dumbledore looked, and as he began to speak, she noticed that there was a touch of sadness in his voice.

"I understand how hard this must be for all of you," began Dumbledore as he stared out to the students in front of him, some of the younger ones in silent tears of worry and fear.

"I know that right now, at this very moment, this is all coming as a great shock. But I promise in the next few days things will begin to make more sense. I encourage all of you to write to your families tonight. Express with them any fears you may have, as I am sure that they will be able to offer you comfort in their words."

Dumbledore paused and smiled a half smile, "Feel free to return to your treats if you like, its not quite nine thirty yet." And with that last statement, Dumbledore, Fudge and the new Minister walked out of the Great Hall… a door slowly closing behind them.

Yet although the men had just left, no one moved or uttered a word. The students it seemed did not know what to do next. No one spoke. No one coughed. The silence was heavy, and it wasn't until Professor McGonagall stood up and slowly stepped forward that everyone finally seemed to remember exactly where they were and what had just happened.

"Well…" began McGonagall in a slow and uncertain voice as she clasped her hands together, "I think that everyone can agree that it's time to head off to bed. The teachers and I have to urgently speak with Professor Dumbledore, and so I'll ask the Prefects of each house to take the lead and direct everyone to their common rooms."

The students at first looked at each other, wary to stand, and then slowly the Prefects of each house rose and started to organize the students.

Hermione stood up quickly and walked towards McGonagall. The professor was in a huddle with the other teachers. When they noticed Hermione's presence they stopped their whispers and stared at her.

"Professor?" asked Hermione in McGonagall's direction.

"Yes Miss Granger?"

"Well I was just wondering… have you seen Harry at all today?"


	12. Common Room Commotion

Author's Note: Another Chapter which is WAY over due, I know, I'm sorry.

Gabrielle

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-Common Room Commotion-

Harry Potter was currently outside on the grounds of Hogwarts, confessing his thoughts and fears to the only one he thought would care.

"I just don't know what to do Hedwig. Why is this so difficult?" whispered Harry to the snowy owl perched in front of him.

Hedwig sat there faithfully, occasionally rustling her feathers and spreading her wings, giving Harry the feeling that she was actually listening to him as he poured his heart out.

The night was cold and dark, with the stars twinkling above them as they sat on a bench in the school yard directly underneath the West Tower. Harry knew that he should probably be inside the castle, enjoying the welcome back feast with everyone else. But lately his mind had been racing endlessly, and he had lost his appetite days ago.

As his mind continued to race, his eyes slowly looked up to the sky and focused on the millions of stars above. He remembered the many nights he had spent on Privet Drive as a young boy. Staring up at the sky… imagining that his parents were somewhere up there.

Their souls would shine brightly down on him… watching him from above… protecting him and guiding him through life, or so it had once felt that way…

And then in the corner of his eye, Harry saw a flash of yellow light coming from the West Tower. Harry's gazed shifted just as Hedwig screeched towards the Owlery.

A flock of owls suddenly erupted out of the windows and flew away quickly from the castle in all directions. Hedwig herself spread her wings and was about to join the flock when Harry reached forward and grabbed her. He pulled her in close to him and got off of the bench as he heard voices coming from the tower above.

"Stop those bloody birds!" cried a man's voice from high up in the tower.

Harry quietly encouraged Hedwig to close her wings, and when she complied he gently tucked her underneath his robes and backed slowly away from the West Tower in horror.

As he retreated he kept a watchful eye on the Owlery were more and more owls could be heard screeching in pain as sparks of yellow streamed out of the open windows.

Harry's heart began to pound in his chest. _Is the school under attack?_ he silently wondered to himself. And then as the possibility sunk in, he turned around and wobbled as quickly as he could to the front entrance while still holding Hedwig underneath his robes.

When Harry finally reached the front entrance and opened his doors, he was surprised to find himself standing in a quiet hall of Hogwarts. From here not even the shrieking of the owls could be heard. As a matter of fact, neither could he hear the feast coming from the other side of the closed Great Hall doors.

Harry slowly approached the tall oak doors and leaned his ear against the crack. All was quiet on the other side. He thought for a moment that the feast had ended long ago – but then he heard a familiar voice.

"Well… I think that everyone can agree that it's time to head off to bed. The teachers and I have to urgently speak with Professor Dumbledore, and so I'll ask the Prefects of each house to take the lead and direct everyone to their common rooms."

Harry recognized McGonagall's voice at once. He also noticed the tension in her sentence, and it worried him. He placed his hand on the door and slowly pushed it open. He saw a few students slowly rising from their seats but no one in the room spoke a word. And then gradually the Heads of Houses gathered their students and began to direct them towards Harry.

Harry stepped aside and let a group of Hufflepuffs pass through. Harry was much too busy searching for Hermione and Ron to notice that most of the students were staring at him with a funny expression on their faces.

He finally caught sight of Hermione heading towards the group of teachers who were huddled at the front of the hall, all of them looking exceptionally anxious.

"Professor?" asked Hermione in McGonagall's direction when she reached the group of teachers.

"Yes Miss Granger?"

"Well I was just wondering… have you seen Harry at all today?"

McGonagall stared at Hermione as though it were a trick question, and then she said in a slightly aspirated tone, "As a matter of fact I have Miss Granger. He's standing right behind you."

Hermione swung around and nearly screamed at the sight of Harry. She was on the verge of questioning him on why he had not come down to dinner, but thought better of it. Instead she grabbed his arm and pulled him quickly towards the Great Hall exit where Ron was already standing and waiting.

"Where the bloody hell were you?" asked Ron to Harry but before he could answer, Hermione was already pushing them both out of the hall and down an empty corridor.

"Hermione – stop it! I need to find Dumbledore! Something's happening in the Owlery!" shouted Harry as he tried to break free from her grip.

Hermione stopped pushing the two boys and looked at Harry puzzled. "What's happening?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Look I don't have time to explain. The owls are being attacked or something! There are yellow sparks flying everywhere and men shouting."

"Harry, you really should have come to dinner." Started Hermione, but before she could finish Harry was walking away from her and towards Dumbledore's office.

"Harry wait!" yelled Hermione as she ran up to him, grabbed his robe and spun him around. "Dumbledore's with the new Minister. They've made these rules because Voldemorts back. We can't send post like we used to." Hermione spat the whole thing out in one big breath.

Harry stared at her with raised eyebrows and then looked over at Ron.

"It's true mate. Tonight at the feast, Dumbledore walked in with Fudge and some newly appointed Minister and gave us all of these rules we have to follow. Load of rubbish if you ask me."

Harry's heartbeat began to slow as he tried to make sense of it all. "Rules? What kind of rules?"

"Restrictions mostly," answered Hermione, as she tried to remember. "No entering the forbidden forest… or leaving school grounds without a teacher or auror."

"Auror?" repeated Harry, and Ron and Hermione nodded.

"We should really get upstairs Harry. The professors seem just as surprised as we are. I don't think it's a good idea for us to be wandering the halls." Said Hermione as her eyes focused on the bulge underneath Harry's robes.

Harry noticed where Hermione was staring, but instead of explaining and risking a lecture, he quickly turned around and headed up the staircases to the Gryffindor common room.

When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady they could hear the loud chatter coming from the other side. The trio glanced at each other before entering, and when they did enter their ears were met with a huge commotion.

"Do you think he'll attack Hogwarts?" asked a terrified third year, as she clutched the arm of her friend.

"Of course he's going to attack, stupid. Why else do you think Dumbledore has all these rules set up in place? He'd scared for our lives." answered a fourth year boy in a very unpleasant tone.

Harry stared the fourth year down and was on the verge of pounding his face in if he didn't shut it, when Hermione grabbed his arm and moved his direction towards a long scroll that had been posted on the common room door.

Harry approached the door slowly, pushing his way through the crowd of people in order to read the document that had been read during the feast.

He read the paper twice over, concentrating on its contents. He was so involved in the scroll that he didn't seem to notice how quiet the common room was suddenly becoming.

By the time he finished reading the last line for the second time, the common room was dead silent. He turned around swiftly and was faced with a hundred pairs of eyes staring at him. All waiting for a reaction or comment.

Harry didn't know what to say. What were they expecting anyways, a speech?

"Well Harry?" asked Seamus slowly, as everyone else seemed to hold their breath.

"Well what?" said Harry, honestly at a loss for words.

"Well what do you think of all this?" piped up a fifth year from the back.

Harry thought for a moment, and then wondered since when his opinion suddenly mattered.

He didn't know if he should say anything, but when his gaze met Hermione's and she slowly nodded, he opened his mouth and chose his words carefully,

"Well… I think that… um…" everyone continued to stare, "I think that everyone needs to … to abide by the rules that have been given to us. Put your trust in Dumbledore and… and everything will be okay."

"That's it?" sneered the snotty fourth year that Harry had been longing to knock out only moments before. "That's all you have to say? Trust Dumbledore to protect us? I'd much rather go home."

A few others in the crowd voiced their agreement and nodded, while others still looked completely lost.

Ron who was standing close to Harry looked in the snotty boy's direction, "Fourteen and think you can take on Voldemort, do you? Ha! I'd like to see that. The fact of the matter is mate, is that Hogwarts is the safest place for you to be. It's the safest place for all of us! So don't run your mouth about things you have no clue about."

Just as Ron then turned his head to roll his eyes at Harry, the fourth year boy quickly moved forward, grabbed Ron by the arm and punched him in the chest.

Ron grabbed a hold of the pint-sized but eager fourth year and tried to avoid his jabs while still holding down his anger. It was a hard feat for Ron because the common room quickly exploded with chants of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" and the fourth year turned out to be a spitball of fiery hell.

As the fight progressed Hermione shrieked for the boys to stop, and was suddenly surprised as Hedwig flew out from under Harry's robes just as he tried to break up the two boys. The rest of the students gathered in a closed circle around the boys who were now spinning around, all of them becoming angrier by the second.

But just as Harry got himself in between Ron and the other boy, there was a loud crack that filled the common room and Professor McGonagall stormed towards the boys, her green dress robes flaring up behind her as she thundered,

"I will not tolerate this kind of behavior! Not in this common room or in any other parts of the school!"

She separated the boys and glared all of them down angrily. "Now - who would like to be the first to explain how three young, descent men suddenly became three fist-flinging brutes!"

No one answered immediately, and the Professor tried to hold back her anger, "Mr. Potter, would you be so kind to explain exactly what was going?"

But just as Harry opened his mouth to give some sort of explanation, the fourth year piped up.

"Yeah go on Harry, since everyone is always so interested in what you have to say."

McGonagall's glared quickly focused on the young boy whose arms were folded angrily on his chest and a look of annoyance on his face. "Well Mr. Wellington, since you seem so keen as to speak why don't you tell me exactly what happened, and leave out the attitude." She added and nodded in the direction of his arms.

Wellington glared at McGonagall for a second, and then dropped his arms and began in an overly animated tone,

"I'm so sick of everyone making some big fuss over Harry! If your so great and really are the Chosen One," he said in Harry's direction, "then why don't you just go out there and get rid of Voldemort already? Why do we have to be locked up in school as though it were some kind of prison?

"Everyone knows that it's Harry he wants," he now said to the professor, "so lets just kick him out and get on with our lives."

The whole common room stood in disbelief of the candid response, and everyone waited for Professor McGonagall to speak. She looked as though she was choking down her rage for her face was cherry red and her eyes were beginning to bulge out of her head.

"Well Isaac," began the professor. But before she could continue her sentence, Harry stepped forward and stared the boy down.

"Do you really think it could be that easy?" he asked in a tone just above a whisper. Isaac looked up at Harry as everyone else in the common room slowly leaned forward to listen in.

"Well? Do you really think that it would be as simple as you make it seem?" repeated Harry, waiting for an answer which he knew he wasn't about to get.

"If you want to go home so badly then go. Whose stopping you?" egged on Harry, for he was now frustrated and mad. He was sick and tired of having his peers look down on him in this way, and he wasn't about to take it anymore. He wasn't about to let some snotty fourth year get the best of him.

"Do you honestly think that you'd be safe at home? Do you think that - that Voldemort won't attack people in their homes? Are you really that naïve?" asked Harry as he stepped closer. He stared the boy down, right into his hazel eyes, and spoke ever so slowly and clearly.

"I, unlike you have seen what he can do; what he is capable of. He is powerful and strong, and he has no mercy. He won't stop just because you're in your flat eating dinner or having tea with your Great Aunt. He won't let you live just because you're young or because you have the sheer nerve to stand up to him and mouth off a bit. He'll kill you. Flat - out - kill - you."

"Harry that's enough." said McGonagall quietly as she stepped forward and touched his arm. But Harry didn't move away. He enjoyed seeing the fear in the boy's eyes. It gave Harry a small sense of pleasure, to see that someone else in the world could maybe understand what he was going through.

But when he realized what he was doing, and that the boy was beginning to slowly tear, he pulled away from the boy and looked around the common room. Everyone was staring at him, but instead of addressing anyone, he walked towards the staircase and headed up to his dormitory, where he threw himself on his bed, and cried in frustration.


End file.
